Philippine officials say 2 Americans among suspected communist rebels killed in clash with troops

Two Americans were among 19 suspected communist guerrillas who were killed in clashes with Philippine troops in a central province earlier this week, a government anti-insurgency task force said Saturday night.

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict said the Americans were killed with 17 other suspected New People’s Army guerrillas in a series of clashes with army forces on April 19 in the coastal town of Toboso in Negros Occidental province. The deadly fighting was first reported on Monday.

The task force warned Americans of Filipino descent in the United States to be wary of being lured by left-wing activist groups into joining or supporting Filipino insurgents in the Philippines in a recruitment process it described as “terror-grooming.”

The U.S. and the Philippines have separately designated the New People’s Army as a terrorist organization.

Human rights groups, however, called for an independent investigation into the clashes, saying that civilians were killed including a student leader from the state-run University of the Philippines, two local advocates for farmers’ rights and a local community journalist who wanted to show support for impoverished villagers.

Read more: ABC News