MANILA: Three police officers were killed and three others wounded in an ambush by suspected leftist New People’s Army rebels in Ifugao, local police said yesterday.
According to the Ifugao Provicial Police Office, police personnel from Ifugao and Benguet provinces were conducting combat operations on Friday morning when they encountered a group of an undetermined number of rebels in Namal village, Asipulo town.
The victims were airlifted to Lagawe General Hospital, police said, adding that pursuit operations had been ongoing against the rebels. However, the police did not say whether the rebels had suffered any casualties.
Major quake rocks Papua
JAYAPURA: A major 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua yesterday, the US Geological Survey said, sending panicked crowds running into the streets.
There were no reports of damage and no tsunami warning was issued after the quake struck on land at 1.42pm at a depth of 75 kilometres, 272km west-southwest of provincial capital Jayapura, the USGS said.
People in the capital of the huge province said they felt the quake strongly and hundreds went running into the streets.
Sulu security forces regroup
MANILA: The fighters of the Sulu sultanate’s royal security force under the command of Agbimuddin Kiram have regrouped in Lahad Datu, Sabah.
Sultanate spokesman Abraham Idjirani said around 135 fighters of Agbimuddin regrouped and were reinforced by around 100 armed supporters from Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
Idjirani added that Malaysian security forces were also observing the ceasefire that was earlier declared by the sultanate of Sulu. The sultanate’s forces are still engaged in a stand-off with Malaysian security forces since they entered Sabah in February.
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