[Inquirer] The Philippine military said it killed the leader of a communist hit squad implicated in the murder of soldiers and civilians, during a brief clash in San Fernando, Bukidnon, on Tuesday morning.Capt. Bob Tamula said a militant, identified as Bugsong, was gunned down by soldiers as he attempted to kill a soldier in Kalagangan village. A peace and development team was in the area when two motorcycles with four people aboard passed by. One of the militants fired at the soldiers using a handgun, prompting them to retaliate.
Tamula said, "One of the suspects identified later as alias Bugsong was hit and he fell to the ground while his companions fled."
He said Bugsong was the leader of Special Partisan Unit, a hit squad of Guerrilla Front 55 of the New People's Army Southern Mindanao Regional Committee, which operates in the hinterlands of Bukidnon and Davao del Norte provinces.
Tamula said the group has been tagged as behind the killing of a number of soldiers, militiamen and civilians in San Fernando and Talaingod areas.