Zamboanga City, Philippines - Two soldiers and three Muslim secessionist rebels were killed in a clash in the southern Philippines, a regional military spokeswoman said Thursday.

The clash erupted when army troops on combat patrol encountered about 30 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas late Tuesday in Piagapo town in Lanao del Sur province, 855 kilometres south of Manila, First Lieutenant Esteffani Cacho said.

Cacho said civilians saw at least five more wounded rebels being carried by their comrades fleeing from the battle zone.

The military has been hunting down MILF rebels who seized towns and villages in August when the Supreme Court stopped the signing of an MILF-government agreement that would have expanded the existing autonomous Muslim region on the southern island of Mindanao.

More than 200 people were killed and more than 500,000 were displaced in the rebel attacks and subsequent clashes between government troops and the MILF.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo dissolved the government peace panel negotiating with the MILF after the hostilities and vowed not to resume negotiations until those responsible for the attacks were brought to justice.

Last month, she named a new chief government negotiator in an initial step toward restarting the stalled peace talks with the MILF, which has been fighting for a separate Islamic state since 1978. (dpa)