20 guns seized in Cagayan gunbattle

By Vince Jacob Visaya

TUGUEGARAO CITY -- Army soldiers seized 20 guns and assorted war materiel in a gunfight between the 17th Infantry Battalion Army soldiers and New People's Army rebels in Calassitan, Santo Niño, Cagayan on Tuesday, August 9, the military said.
    Maj. Gen. Lawrence Mina, 5th Infantry Division commander, said the guns were seized after the 15-minute gunfight between Army soldiers and the 15-member communist guerrillas led by a certain Edgar Bautista alias Ka Simoy, secretary of the NPA's West Front Committee-Komiteng Probinsya-Cagayan-Komiteng Rehiyon-Cagayan Valley.
    Seized were two M-60 light machine guns, an M-14 Armalite rifle, a Carbine rifle, an AK-47 Armalite rifle, an M-16 Armalite rifle and 12-gauge shotgun.
    Also seized were an AK-47 rifle with incomplete parts, three M16A1 rifles with incomplete parts, two M-14 rifles with incomplete parts and a Garand rifle.
    Also found were an M60 barrel, three Cal. 30 Carbine barrels, a Garand barrel, and assorted bullets for M-14, Carbine aNormalnd AK-47 guns.
    Soldiers also found two improvised explosive device components, 30-meter detonating cords, five bandoliers with magazines, a rebel flag, medical items and food.