Manila  - A communist rebel was killed in a clash with government troops in an eastern Philippine town, a military report said Friday.

The report said the fighting erupted Thursday when patrolling troops encountered the guerrillas in a remote village in Esperanza town in Masbate province, 390 kilometres south of Manila.

The troops also recovered an assault rifle left behind by the fleeing rebels, it added.

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