MANILA, Philippines, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Philippine government forces have captured a major bomb-making factory and munitions storage cave on the eastern coast of Mindanao.
The cave in Surigao del Sur was used by the communist New People's Army and doubled as a meeting place for top communist leaders in the area, The Manila Times reported in its Friday edition.
Military sources were quoted as saying the cave, captured after "intense" fighting, had "42 plastic containers of superdyne dynamite explosives that could produce about 250 pieces of 8-kilogram (about 17.5 pound) landmines and 18 pieces of claymore mines."
Additional dynamite was found buried in the cave. Also found were rifles, rocket propelled grenades, an ammunition reloading machine and detonator wiring.
"The capture of this CT (communist terrorist) factory will definitely degrade their bomb making capability in Mindanao," army spokesman Maj. Ernesto Torres Jr., said.
The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has waged a 38-year struggle against the central government and is active throughout the country.
In addition to the NPA, Philippine forces are also fighting Muslim separatists and al-Qaida-linked terrorists in Mindanao and elsewhere in the south of the country.
