MANILA, May 5 (Xinhua): An army soldier, two militiamen and four civilians were wounded in an attack Saturday by suspected members of the New People's Army (NPA) insurgents in Camarines Sur province, south of Manila, a military spokesman said Sunday.
Joash Pramis, public affairs chief of Philippine Army's 9th infantry division, said the government security forces and civilians were repairing a busted water pipe in a remote village in Camarines Sur province when at least 10 NPA rebels opened fire at them around 7:30 a.m. local time on Saturday.
The rebels cut the pipes and used explosive to blast the "cave" which serves as the water source, he said. A firefight ensued for about 15 minutes until the insurgents fled.
The seven troops and civilians were all hit by shrapnel from an improvised explosive device that the rebels detonated during the firefight, Pramis said.
The NPA rebels continued their small-scale armed attacks against the military after the Duterte administration scrapped talks with the armed group in 2017.
