Manila - Four communist rebels were killed in two separate clashes with government
security forces in the Philippines, the military said Friday.
Three rebels were killed Friday in fighting in
Mexico town in Pampanga province, 75 kilometres north of Manila, Colonel Ernesto Benitez, an army brigade commander, said.
Benitez said the security forces were on patrol when they encountered the rebels. They did not suffer any casualties and recovered a pistol and two assault rifles left behind by the fleeing rebels.
Another rebel was killed Thursday in a clash with soldiers in Lupi town in Camarines Sur province, 240 kilometres south-east of Manila, said Major Harold Cabunoc, an army spokesman.
Cabunoc said three other guerrillas were captured after the fighting and six assault rifles were recovered by government troops.
Communist rebels have been fighting the government since the late 1960s, making the movement one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia.
