February 26, 2002, Phili Star, Philippine official denies US troops joined army in clash against communists,

February 26, 2002, Phili Star, Philippine official denies US troops joined army in clash against communists,

Angeles City: Is the US military now participating in anti-insurgency operations in Central Luzon?

Two American soldiers were seen in the company of some 50 Philippine army troops who clashed with 25 guerrillas of the New People's Army (NPA) last Saturday [23 February], sources from the communist party's armed wing claimed.

The five-hour firefight, which took place in Sitio [Village District] Target in Barangay [Village] Sapang Bato here, resulted in the death of a top NPA leader, known only as "Ka [Comrade] Bagsik".

The sources said their colleagues who were involved in the encounter disclosed that the uniformed Americans were armed. The sitio is located on the slopes of Mt Pinatubo, some 12 km north of the former US military base at Clark Field.

Brig-Gen Alberto Braganza, commander of the Philippine Army's 7th division, confirmed that some 50 soldiers from the 24th and 69th Infantry Battalions had encountered NPA rebels in the area, but denied there were any Americans with them. "That's pure fabrication," Braganza said in a telephone interview.

Sources from the Philippine air force based at Clark said some US servicemen are at the former US base as part of a planning team for the ongoing "Balikatan [Shoulder to Shoulder] 02-1" exercises against the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan. The joint "Balance Piston" war drills in Nueva Ecija formally ended two weeks ago.

Braganza explained that he had ordered the deployment of troops to the Sapang Bato area as part of the army's internal security operations "to track down lawless elements pestering Americans and other foreign nationals".

The army soldiers had positioned themselves in the area as early as Friday night. At 0700 [local time] the next day, they engaged the rebels in a firefight that lasted until noon.

Outnumbered, the rebels fled and left behind an M-16 rifle, an M-14 rifle, four shotguns and subversive documents.

While only the body of Ka Bagsik was recovered, the military believes the rebels suffered more casualties. There were no casualties on the government side.

Braganza said the rebel group was led by a certain Nicky of the Sandatahang Yunit [Armed Forces Unit] Propaganda and the NPA Northwestern Guerrilla Front in Pampanga.

Since the arrival of US troops for joint military exercises in Luzon and Mindanao, left-leaning and militant groups have expressed concern that the operations would expand to target the NPA, earlier tagged by the US State Department as a terrorist group.

During the Balance Piston exercises, a US C-130 transport plane was hit by groundfire while flying over Abra. The government initially blamed communist guerrillas for the attack - an allegation denied by the NPA.