Tacloban City, Aug. 1 -- At least eight members of the New People's Army (NPA) were killed in two separate clashes after government troops attacked the rebels' hideout in upland San Isidro village in Las Navas, Northern Samar, on Thursday.

The Philippine Army's 8th Infantry Division (ID) on Friday said that from the initial four dead earlier reported, the number climbed to eight, considered a major accomplishment in the government's anti-insurgency campaign.

The first firefight erupted around 2:30 a.m. on Thursday as the military assaulted a heavily fortified enemy hideout surrounded with International Humanitarian Law-banned anti-personnel mines, which prompted the soldiers to call for fire support, according to 8th ID spokesperson Cap...