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Philippine forces kill 10 Maoist rebels in raids

By AFP
April 21, 2026
A Filipino police officer stands alert at a checkpoint. —Reuters/File
A Filipino police officer stands alert at a checkpoint. —Reuters/File

MANILA: Government forces in the central Philippines have killed at least 10 Maoist guerrillas in several gun battles, the military said on Monday, in a deadly flare-up of the decades-old insurgency.

Troops were fighting “remnants” of the New People´s Army (NPA) rebel group on Sunday near the the municipality of Toboso on Negros island, the regional military command said. The exact number of dead rebels was uncertain, with Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala in Manila telling AFP as many as 19 may have been killed.