ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines -- Communist guerrillas ambushed a government troop column, killing 52 soldiers and wounding 17 others in mountainous terrain on the troubled southern island of Mindanao, military sources said today.
The ambush by the communist New Peoples Army reportedly took place Thursday as the troops were returning from an anti-guerrilla sweep in the border area between Zamboanga Del Norte and Zamboanga Del Sur provinces, about 450 miles south of Manila.
The guerrillas took 53 automatic rifles as they melted back into the hills after the attack which left an army colonel among the dead. The soldiers were from the 30th infantry battalion, the sources said.
Maj. Gen. Delfin Castro could not confirm the death count, but a local funeral parlor said the military had ordered 52 castkets. Castro was reported leading elite Philippine marines to the ambush site, near the hamlet of Gudud, to investigate.
No further details were available.
