Manila  - Two soldiers were killed in a clash with Muslim separatist rebels in the strife-torn southern Philippines, a military spokesman said Monday.

Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres said the fighting erupted Sunday when government troops encountered an undetermined number of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in Datu Piang town in Maguindanao province, 930 kilometres south of Manila.

Torres said another soldier was also wounded in a separate clash with MILF rebels in the village of Upper Dado in Alameda town in nearby North Cotabato province.

More troops have been dispatched to the area to pursue the MILF rebels believed to be under the command of Commander Umbra Kato, who seized villages and attacked towns in the area in August last year.

The rebel attacks in August were triggered by a Supreme Court decision that stopped the signing of a key territory agreement between the government and the MILF.

More than 200 people have been killed in the attacks and subsequent fighting between the MILF and the military. More than 500,000 were also displaced at the height of the clashes.

For the past seven months, soldiers have been pursuing Kato and two other MILF commanders responsible for the August attacks, but none of them have been taken into custody.

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