19 Killed, Including Two US Citizens, in Philippine Military Raid on Negros Island
Two American nationals died alongside 17 others in a firefight during a government raid in the Philippines. The incident occurred on April 19, 2026, in a remote area, prompting a rights commission probe. All 19 were identified as members of the New People’s Army insurgent group.
South China Morning PostTwo US citizens were among 19 people killed in a raid on an alleged communist stronghold in the Philippines, the South China Morning Post reported, citing a government task force. The raid took place in Toboso municipality on Negros Island on April 19, 2026.
More than 300 residents fled their homes as gunfire erupted in the remote sugar cane-farming region, according to the municipal disaster management office.
One soldier was wounded in the firefight. The incident has sparked a probe by the country’s rights commission. The two US citizens were identified as Lyle Prijoles and Kai Dana-Rene Sorem, the task force stated.
Prijoles and Sorem arrived in Negros Occidental province about a month before they were killed. “The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict [NTF-ELCAC] notes with serious concern the confirmation that a second American national was among those killed in the April 19, 2026, armed encounter,” the task force said in a statement.
“This brings to two the number of US citizens who died in the same incident,” the statement added.
All 19 killed were identified as combatant members of the New People’s Army (NPA), according to the NTF-ELCAC. The NPA has been fighting a long-running insurgency for nearly 60 years. Prijoles’ name had been released shortly after the clash.
