Cotabato City, Philippines - Muslim rebels attacked two villages in a southern Philippine province, wounding two civilians, a regional military spokesman said Wednesday.

Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando said Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels first attacked Lower Dado village in Alamada town in North Cotabato province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, wounding a 19-year-old woman.

Ando said the rebels were driven back by army troopers stationed in the village.

The rebels left behind three unexploded rocket-propelled grenades and one M203 rifle grenade recovered by government troops, he added.

A few hours later, the rebels fired two rounds of mortars in the nearby village of Teren Teren, which exploded at the public market and at the cemetery.

A 13-year-old girl was wounded in the second attack, Ando said.

Hostilities between the military and the MILF have been sporadic since August 2008, when the rebels launched a series of attacks in the southern region of Mindanao.

The guerrillas were protesting the Supreme Court's decision to block the signing of a key agreement between the government and the MILF that would have expanded an existing Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

More than 200 people were killed in the clashes, while more than 500,000 were displaced at the height of the fighting.

The 12,000-strong MILF has been fighting for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao since 1978 but entered into peace negotiations with the government in 1997.
(dpa)