Troops secured the crash site and retrieved the bodies of four air force crewmen, including two pilots, as well as an army soldier and two militiamen, Cordero and the army said. 

Government forces have been undertaking on and off offensives against communist guerrillas in the region and elsewhere in the country after peace talks between President Rodrigo Duterte's administration and the Maoist insurgents collapsed. 

The guerrillas have been weakened by decades of battle setbacks, infighting and surrenders but remain a national security threat. The military says about 3,500 New People's Army guerrillas remain to wage one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies.

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