Communist rebels claim responsibility for attack on Australian mining firm

MANILA (AP) - Communist rebels said Tuesday they attacked an Australian mining operation in the northeastern Philippines to force its closure, and warned of similar raids on any foreign mining company operating in the area.

About 40 New People's Army guerrillas raided the El Dore Mining Corp. in Camarines Norte province's Labo township last week Wednesday, torching heavy equipment and vehicles and stripping security guards of cell phones and guns, the military said. No injuries were reported.

There are a handful of foreign mining interests across the Philippines.

A regional military spokesman, Maj. Randolf Cabangbang, said the attack may have been aimed at extorting money from the company.

But the rebels said they wanted to punish the gold mining industry for damaging the environment, displacing villagers and exploiting resources that should benefit Filipinos.