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4 die in shootout as rebels seize Philippine bus

02 December 2010 01:58 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Suspected communist guerrillas seized a passenger bus Wednesday then opened fire on pursuing government forces in a running gunbattle that killed at least four people in a province east of Manila, APA reports quoting â€œAssociated Pressâ€.
At least five New People’s Army rebels commandeered the bus in Quezon province’s San Francisco town after failing to attack a police station. At the station, troops repelled the rebels, an army statement said.
When police learned of the rebel presence in the bus, they gave chase, firing warning shots as the guerrillas sporadically shot at them with rifles and pistols.
"Civilian commuters riding the bus were held hostage as the communist terrorists fled from the firefight," the army said.
Army troops later joined the chase, which lasted for about an hour and covered several miles (kilometers) through three towns, army and police officials said.
"The passengers really got scared all along as gunshots rang out," regional military spokesman army Col. Generoso Bolina told The Associated Press by telephone, adding the gunmen declared they were communist rebels after boarding the bus.
The driver, a gun pointed at his head by one of the rebels, lost control of the bus before reaching a road blocked by an army tank and trucks. The bus smashed on a tree and three of the gunmen jumped out and fled, firing at troops, Bolina said.
A fourth rebel was shot and killed by troops in the bus and another was captured. At least one passenger was wounded, Bolina said.
Three other people lay dead in the bus after the exchange of fire. Police investigators were trying to determine if the three, who included two women, were Maoist guerrillas or passengers.
The Philippines’ 41-year Marxist rebellion has been one of Asia’s longest and bloodiest. More than 120,000 combatants and civilians have died in the rural-based rebellion.
President Benigno Aquino III has formed a negotiating team to resume peace talks with the guerrillas, but sporadic fighting has continued. Peace talks brokered by Norway have been suspended since 2004.