Philippine police commandos man a machine gun mounted on a truck deployed in Manila. (File photo)
Seven Philippine police commandos have been killed in an ambush blamed on communist militants fighting the government forces.
Regional police spokesman Cesar Orlanes told reporters that the incident took place on Monday when the members of New Peopleâ„¢s Army (NPA) attacked the commandos near a police station in the remote farming town of Allacapan in the northern province of Cagayan.
Seven commandos were also injured in the assault, which was the latest in a series of attacks carried out by the communist militants against the government forces so far in 2013. Dozens of people have died in the attacks.
The seven dead commandos were all members of the elite Special Action Forces trained to fight militant groups such as the NPA, which is believed to have about 4,000 members.
In January, Maoist rebels ambushed security forces and killed nine members. The rebels also killed two members of President Benigno Aquinoâ„¢s Liberal Party last month.
A government estimate says at least 30,000 have been killed in the Maoist armed campaign waged by the NPA in the Philippines over the past 44 years.
DB/HSN
This article originally appeared on: Press TV