Two communist rebels and one soldier were killed in a clash in the southern Philippines, an army commander said Monday. ( dpa )
Colonel Jose Vizcara said the fighting erupted when some 60 guerrillas attacked on Sunday an army encampment in the outskirt of Carmen town in Surigao del Sur province, 750 kilometres south of Manila.
Vizcara added the rebels used civilians as shields in their escape toward the jungle.
Communist rebels have been fighting the government since the late 1960s, making the movement one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia.