7 soldiers wounded in landmine blast in Compostela

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Xinhua) - Leftist rebels detonated an improvised bomb in the southern Philippines today, wounding at least seven soldiers in the latest of such attacks on government troops, the military said.

A makeshift landmine allegedly planted by New People's Army guerrillas along a trail went off as troops from the army's 28th Infantry Battalion patrolled in Napnapan village, Pantukan town, in Compostela Valley province at 4 a.m., according to Raul Villegas, spokesperson of the army's 10th Infantry Division.

An army lieutenant said to be the team leader was among the wounded, said Villegas who declined to give the names of casualties pending notification to their families.

The military official said pursuit operation was now being conducted against the fleeing insurgents.

Tuesday's attack came after leftist rebels stormed a rubber processing plant in Makilala town in North Cotabato province on Sunday, killing one worker and wounding another in a bomb attack.