12 March

The Philippine military said on Thursday morning that two leftist rebels and an army soldier have been killed in a clash in Samar province in the central Philippines.

The military said in a report that the fierce fighting broke out shortly after 8 a.m. local time on Wednesday between the Philippine Army and at least 10 New People's Army (NPA) guerrillas in a village of the coastal Pinabacdao town.

The fighting lasted 25 minutes, resulting in the killing of the three, the report added.

The report said troops recovered an M16 rifle, ammunition, mobile phones, five solar panels and a backpack from the slain rebels.

The NPA rebels have been fighting the Philippine government since 1969, making the rebel group one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies.

The NPA strength is estimated at 3,500, a number significantly lower than its peak time of around 25,000 in the 1980s.

Over the past five decades, the NPA rebels have continued to carry out killings, raids, kidnappings, acts of extortion, and other forms of violence primarily directed against the Philippine security forces. Enditem

xinhua