Manila  - Two soldiers were wounded Thursday in a clash with communist rebels in an eastern Philippine province, a military report said.

The fighting erupted when patrolling army soldiers encountered about 15 heavily-armed guerrillas in a village in Barcelona town in Sorsogon province, 375 kilometres south-east of Manila.

There were no reported casualties on the rebel side.

A separate army patrol also encountered another band of communist rebels in nearby Bulusan town, but there were no casualties reported.

The troops recovered several firearms, an improvised explosive device and detonating cords left behind by the fleeing rebels.

Earlier in the week, government troops discovered an abandoned 500-square-metre camp of communist rebels in nearby Gubat town, also in Sorsogon province.

Communist rebels have been fighting the government since the late 1960s, making the movement one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia. (dpa)