MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine military says five army soldiers have been abducted by communist rebels on the outskirts of a southern city.
A local army spokesman in southern Davao city, Capt. Raul Villegas, says New People's Army guerrillas dressed in military uniforms stopped the soldiers aboard two motorcycles at a road block late Monday.
Villegas said Tuesday the soldiers were unarmed and on their way to the market to buy supplies. He says their team leader sensed the gunmen weren't soldiers and jumped off the motorcycle to escape, leaving his five comrades behind.
The rebels usually release captured soldiers after determining they were not involved in human rights and other abuses.
The Maoist rebels have been fighting the Philippine government for 44 years in one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies.
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