| An army officer and six communist rebels were killed in a clash yesterday in the central island of Samar, the military said. Soldiers from the army’s 14th Infantry Battalion were patrolling a village outside the town of Oras, in Eastern Samar province, when they encountered about 50 New People’s Army guerrillas. The patrol leader, Lt. Dixson Dacoro, was killed along with six rebels in a 45-minute firefight, said Maj. Gen. Glen Rabonza, commander of the army’s 8th Infantry Division. More troops were deployed to the area to pursue the fleeing rebels, who left behind their slain comrades and weapons, Rabonza said. Eastern Samar is one of three provinces on Samar Island, about 550 kilometers (345 miles) southeast of Manila, where guerrilla activities have intensified in recent months. |