Filipino troops capture camp

Press, 7 October 1987, Page 10

Filipino troops capture camp

NZPA-Reuter Manila Philippine troops captured a big Communist rebel training camp after fierce fighting that left at' least seven people » dead, the Army said yesterday. '! An Army regional commander said the fighting broke out on Monday in the Bicol region where rebels earlier blew up eight power transmission towers after officials rejected their demand for SUSIH,W« in "revolutionary taxes”. Brigadier-General Luis San Andres said the camp in the Sorsogon province, 344 km southeast of Manila, was the fourth rebel stronghold seized by Government forces since the military launched a region-wide offensive in Bicol two weeks ago. Six of the 154 guerrillas defending the camp and one soldier were killed in two hours of fighting, General San Andres said. He said the camp had about a dozen huts and obstacle courses used by the rebels in training. The Army sent two battalions of elite troops to Bicol after rebels destroyed five bridges and eight transmission towers used in supplying 225 megawatts of geothermal power to Manila. Besides being a power source, the region is also a main food supplier for Manila. General San Andres said Government refusal to submit to extortion apparently angered the rebels.