Cotabato City, Philippines - Two Muslim secessionist rebels were killed in a clash with government troops in the southern Philippines, a regional military spokesman said Wednesday.

The fighting erupted Tuesday when government troops caught up with fleeing Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in Guindulungan town in Maguindanao province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, Major Armand Rico said.

Two soldiers were wounded in the fighting and were being treated at a hospital in nearby Cotabato City, Rico said.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong braced for Typhoon Hagupit Tuesday, cancelling dozens of flights and ferry services, after the storm killed five people and left four missing in the Philippines.

Two of the people killed in the Philippines drowned in a swollen river in the central province of Antique, two were buried in landslides in the northern city of Baguio and one was electrocuted in the northern province of La Union, relief officials said.

Rescuers were also struggling to extricate 13 miners trapped in a flooded shaft of a goldmine in Itogon town in Benguet province, 225 kilometres north of Manila.

Manila - The United States on Tuesday presented rewards totalling 900,000 dollars to 12 Filipino seamen who helped successfully prosecute polluters of US waters.

Manila - Five people were killed and four remained missing in various accidents in areas pummeled by storm Hagupit in the Philippines, relief officials said Tuesday.

Two of the fatalities were drowned in a swollen river in the central province of Antique, two were buried in landslides in the northern city of Baguio and one was electrocuted in the northern province of La Union.

Rescuers were also struggling to extricate 13 miners trapped in a flooded shaft in a goldmine in Itogon town in Benguet province, 225 kilometres north of Manila.

Manila - Communist rebels ransacked a police station in a remote town in the southern Philippines and carted away a still undetermined amount of office equipment, a police report said Tuesday.

The rebels barged into the facility late Monday in Las Nieves town in Agusan del Norte province, 810 kilometres south of Manila, and hog-tied a police aide manning the station.

Investigators were still determining if the rebels were able to seize guns inside the armory. There was no police officer in the station when the incident occurred.

There was no reported casualties in the attack.

Cotabato City, Philippines - A pro-government militiaman was killed and four more wounded in an attack by Muslim secessionist rebels in the southern Philippines, a military report said Monday.

The report said the fighting erupted Saturday when about 30 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels attacked an army outpost in Maguindanao province, 960 kilometres south of Manila.

The rebels also suffered an undermined number of casualties, the report said.