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Philippine Military Raid Leftist Stronghold
Philippine government troops Monday raided a leftist rebel stronghold in the central Philippine island of Bohol, killing two guerrillas, a military report said.
The report said government soldiers attacked some 30 New People 's Army (NPA) guerrillas in the village of Laktuan Tanod, Bohol, leaving two rebels dead. No casualties were reported on the government side.
The attack came on the same day when President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo ordered the release of 49 political prisoners in a move to pull leftist rebels back to the negotiating table.
The National Democratic Front (NDF) and its armed wing, the NPA, terminated peace talks with the government in 1999 in protest over the Senate's approval of the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States which allows the resumption of large-scale U.S.- Philippine joint military exercises in the country.
When President Arroyo assumed office last month, one of her first official acts was to name government peace panels to resume peace talks with rebel groups.
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