manila, philippinesAP —
Two Americans were among the 19 suspected communist guerrillas killed in clashes with the Philippine military in Central Province earlier this week, the government’s counterinsurgency headquarters announced Saturday night.
The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict announced that an American was killed along with 17 other suspected New People’s Army guerrillas in a series of clashes with the military in the coastal town of Toboso, Negros Occidental, on April 19. The deadly battle was first reported on Monday.
The task force warned Filipino-Americans in the United States to be wary of being lured by left-wing activist groups into a recruitment process dubbed “terror grooming” to join or support rebel groups in the Philippines.
The United States and the Philippines have each designated the New People’s Army as a terrorist organization.
But human rights groups called for an independent investigation into the clashes, saying civilians were killed, including a student leader from the National University of the Philippines, two local farmers’ rights activists and a local community journalist who wanted to show support for poor villagers.
“We call on the international community to closely monitor this incident, as it is not an isolated incident but is part of a pattern of ongoing violations of international humanitarian law throughout rural Philippines,” said human rights group the National Union of People’s Lawyers.
Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., executive director of the Counterinsurgency Task Force, identified the two Americans killed as Lyle Prijoles and Kai Dana-Rene Solem.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila did not respond to requests for comment.
Torres said all 19 people killed had been identified and their bodies handed over to their families. “These facts represent an alarming end to a situation in which foreign nationals are in a combat environment where the danger is imminent and the consequences are irreversible,” he said.
“The deaths of two Americans in a single encounter requires careful reflection on how involvement in certain activities and networks may unintentionally expose us to a dangerous environment,” Torres said.
Torres said the two Americans arrived in the Philippines in March and “were believed to have then traveled to Negros Occidental where they were killed on April 19,” without providing other details.
“Our thoughts are with the families facing the burden of loss far from home,” Torres said.
A rebel commander who had a bounty of 1 million pesos (approximately $16,600) on his head was killed in the clashes that erupted after military units responded to information from villagers about the presence of suspected rebels, military officials said. A soldier was injured in the battle.
Troops seized 24 firearms at the scene of the clash and captured an unspecified number of fleeing guerrillas, the task force said.
At its peak decades ago, the rebels numbered an estimated 25,000 fighters and waged one of Asia’s longest-running communist rebellions. But fighting losses, factional splits and surrenders have reduced the number of rebels to fewer than 900, security officials said.
Peace talks brokered by Norway collapsed under former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte after both sides accused the other of continuing deadly attacks despite negotiations.
