Two soldiers dead in clash with Peruvian guerrillas

Two soldiers died in a clash with Shining Path guerrillas, whose leader was seriously injured, Peru's defense ministry said Saturday.

Authorities said the military and police on Thursday began an operation against Shining Path in the east of Peru.

They "reached a series of terrorist camps and the main position of Victor Quispe Palomino, comrade 'Jose'," the group's leader.

Many members of Shining Path were killed in clashes on Friday while Quise was seriously injured, the ministry said in a statement.

Authorities also captured "weapons, communications devices, equipment, laptops, lots of literature and documents."

Last month a soldier was killed in an attack by Shining Path members in the region of Junin, which is known for its coca leaf plantations and where the last remnants of the Shining Path are hiding out.

Soldiers have been patrolling the region for more than two decades and there in January 2021 they killed the group's second in command, Jorge Quispe Palomino.

Almost all of Shining Path's leaders have been either killed or jailed but the group can still count on around 350 members.

Shining Path emerged as a communist guerrilla group in 1980.

Some 69,000 people died over the next two decades in the group's battles with the armed forces, according to Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.