Red rebels kidnap two Mindanao cops

Heavily-armed members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) abducted two policemen who were manning a checkpoint along the national highway in Surigao del Norte province in restive Mindanao.

This was conirmed by Chief Superintendent Rolando Felix, the chief of the police regional command, who identiied the two lawmen as Police oficers 2 Alfredo Dagamon and John Paul Doverte.

Felix said the two were manning a police checkpoint along the national highway in the town of Placer, Surigao del Norte on Monday afternoon when heavily armed NPAS aboard a rented van and wearing police uniforms abducted them.

“This is another desperate move of the NPAS as our government forces have stepped up their all-out operations against them,” Felix said.

An NPA spokesman conirmed in a local radio interview that they were behind the abduction, claiming the two policemen were being investigated for their alleged involvement in extra-judicial killings in the area.

Also in Mindanao, police reported that NPAS set up a blockade along the highway in the town of Jabonga, Agusan del Norte and torched two cargo trucks on Tuesday.

The two trucks, loaded with cigarettes, were on their way from Surigao City to Butuan City when they were stopped along the highway, according to the police.

The abduction of the two policemen and the burning of the two trucks were latest attacks by the NPAS since President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte formally suspended in May their peace talks with the government, hosted by Norway as the third party facilitator.