Manila - Communist rebels raided on Monday a police station in the central Philippines, wounding an officer and seizing firearms, a police report said.

The raid occurred before dawn in the police station of La Libertad town in Negros Oriental province, 630 kilometres south of Manila.

Two female communist rebels first entered the police station pretending to report a crime. They were followed by four heavily armed guerrillas that fired at the police officers.

The rebels were able to open the armory and carted away at least five firearms before fleeing to the jungles.

Troops have been dispatched to the area to pursue the rebels.

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