5 Philippine soldiers killed in rebel ambush

Rebels killed five Philippine Army soldiers and wounded six others in an ambush in a northern province, the military said on Friday.

The soldiers were travelling in a convoy with police late on Thursday when they were fired on by New People’s Army guerrillas in Quirino township in Ilocos Sur province, said Capt. Mark Anthony Ruelos of the 7th Infantry Division.

Armed forces spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla said the rebels used civilians as human shields, preventing the ambushed troops from making an effective counterattack.