Cotabato Land Mine Explosion Hurt 7 Soldiers

Seven soldiers were reportedly hurt after a land mine exploded during their patrol in a remote barangay in Makilala, North Cotabato Friday morning.

57th Infantry Battalion commander Lt. Col. Nilo Vinluan, said soldiers were patrolling barangay Luna Sur to verify reports of armed men in the area when a land mine exploded at 12:50 midnight.

Vinluan said a platoon was sent to Barangay Luna Sur after residents reported sightings of armed men in the said barangay. Vinluan, however, said wounded soldiers only obtain minor injuries from shrapnel caused by the blast. The Army official said shortly before 1 am Friday, armed men believed to be members of the New People’s Army (NPA) harassed an army’s detachment in Barangay Villaflores, a neighboring barangay, but soldiers were able to stop it.

“It seemed that the Luna Sur landmine and Villaflores harassment were related and perhaps the same group is responsible for [the attacks],” Vinluan said.

He added that more soldiers were deployed in the two barangays for a follow-up operation against the suspected culprits.

Authorities withheld the identities of the wounded soldiers and assured their families that the soldiers were safe and were given immediate medical treatment at a hospital in Makilala.

Source: Gma News Online