One soldier was killed while two others were wounded as an improvised bomb planted by alleged members of New People’s Army (NPA) exploded followed by a firefight in Quezon province on Monday night.

Capt. Patrick Jay Retumban, public affairs chief of the s 2nd Infantry Division, said troops of 85th Infantry Battalion were on a military truck when the bomb exploded in the vicinity of Barangay Silang, Lopez town around 8:37 pm.

Retumban said, according to Colonel Elias Escarcha, commander of the 201st Infantry Brigade, the military truck was fetching "troops who came from a community civic action when they were met by a sudden improvised explosive device explosion along the road.”

“The exchange of fire ensued for about 30 minutes until reinforcement came,” he said.

Retumban said Corporal Nilo Julian was declared dead on arrival at St. Jude Hospital.

He said Sergeant Victor Bartocillo and Pfc Jonathan Baylar suffered wounds from the explosion.

“Wounded troops are now in stable condition,” Retumban noted.

Retumban said another encounter between the reinforcing troops and withdrawing rebels took place at the vicinity of Brgy. Cogorin (just around two kilometers away from the ambush site) at around 9:10 pm of the same day.

“No one was hurt from the troops during the second clash while (there were) undetermined casualties on the scampering enemies based on the traces of bloodstains,” he said. Robina Asido/DMS