Two U.S. citizens, suspected of being “terror-groomed” by leftist insurgents, were among the 19 individuals killed in a raid on a communist militant stronghold in the Philippines last week, as per reports.
Identified as Lyle Prijoles and Kai Dana-Rene Sorem, 26, the Americans were allegedly part of a New People’s Army (NPA) faction in Toboso. They met their end when Filipino military forces raided their hideout on April 19, according to the Philippine government.
A fierce exchange of gunfire erupted between the military and the rebels, a group recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and other countries. This resulted in multiple casualties, several arrests, and the recovery of around 24 firearms from the location.
It is believed that the two Americans had arrived in the Philippines in March and may have been ensnared by a recruitment strategy described as “terror-grooming” by the Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, during their statement on the incident released Saturday.
Filipino Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., who spearheads the campaign against the NPA, remarked, “These developments highlight a troubling intersection: foreign nationals embroiled in active combat, where the threats are immediate and the repercussions irreversible.”
“The deaths of two Americans in this encounter should urge a profound consideration of how participation in certain activities or networks can inadvertently lead to exposure to perilous environments,” he added.
“Our thoughts are with their families, who now face the burden of loss under circumstances that unfolded far from their homes,” Torres added.
The radical “anti-fascist’’ Malaya Movement said on its Web site that Prijoles “was a Filipino American born in San Diego and community organizer in the Bay Area.
“Lyle gave back to the Filipino American community through his love for his family, his activism as a student, his involvement in the arts and cultural work, and his human rights advocacy,” it said of the man, who some outlets reported was 40 years old.
Sorem was from Steilacoom, Wash., and became involved in the progressive Filipino group Anakbayan before going to the Philippines to help rural communities, the organization said.
“As a musician, Kai used her formal education with her love for her community and the Philippines,” the group said.
“In 2026, she returned to the Philippines to deepen her knowledge of her country and culture through learning the language and serving peasant farming communities.”
The firefight was just the latest clash with the NPA, a militant communist group which has been active in the Philippines for nearly 60 years.
The guerilla group numbered 25,000 at its heights but has been reduced to fewer than 900 in recent years.
The latest incident broke out after military troops were called to a small village where locals reported rebels and a wanted commander — with a $16,000 bounty on his head — were hiding.
Just one soldier was injured during the shootout.
Some critics raised the alarm about the number of casualties and called for an investigation into the altercation — prompting the Filipino military to call the incident “a legitimate armed encounter, not a massacre.”
With Post wires
