44 improvised bombs seized from alleged leftist rebels in Agusan

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Xinhua) - The military said today that it had seized 44 improvised bombs from believed leftist rebels in southern part of the country.

Soldiers, acting on tips from villagers, found 44 makeshift landmines and eight sacks of bomb-making materials at a hinterland community in Mansanitas village, Loreto town, in Agusan del Sur province on Sunday, said Albert Caber, spokesperson of the military's Eastern Mindanao Command.

"The troops from the 1003rd Infantry Brigade, 10th Infantry Division, were on security patrol when they found (the bombs) ," Caber said.

Caber said the bombs could be from the leftist New People's Army.

Last year, government troops also stumbled upon an alleged bomb- making facility of the NPA in the same town, and recovered about 160 bombs "powerful enough to raze a city when set off at once," military officials said.

Over 100 security forces and civilians have been killed by NPA bombs in southern Philippines since 2010, according to Caber.