Two communist rebels were killed and four others wounded in three days of clashes with government troops in the southern Philippines, a regional military spokesman said Saturday, DPA reported.
Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang said three soldiers were also wounded in the fighting that started Thursday when troops attacked a guerrilla camp on the outskirts of Cabadbaran City in Agusan del Norte province, 810 kilometres south of Manila.
Cabangbang said the military made airstrikes on the mountaintop camp, but soldiers had not been able to conquer it.
"Our troops have to retreat to extricate the wounded," he said. "But we will continue the assault."
Cabangbang said reinforcements were sent to the area.
Communist rebels have been fighting the government since the late 1960s, making the movement one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia.