Security forces killed two leftist rebels as they clashed on Sunday in the southern Philippines, a military official said Monday.
State soldiers were patrolling in the village of Goma in Digos city when they encountered undetermined number of communist rebels of the New Peoples Army (NPA), regional military spokesman Major Randolph Cabangbang said.
"Locals informed our men about the presence of the rebels. We have no reports of casualties. On the enemy side, two of them were killed," Cabangbang said.
The NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been waging a guerrilla campaign in the countryside for four decades.
Military estimates placed the NPA strength at more than 5, 000 men scattered in more than 60 guerrilla fronts throughout the country.
Peace talks between the government and the leftists bogged down in 2004 after the United States included the NPA and its parent body as foreign terrorist organizations. The military is aiming to defeat the leftist insurgency problem next year based on the directive of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.