Manila - Four communist rebels were killed in separate clashes with government troops in the southern Philippines, a military report said Wednesday.

Three communist rebels were killed in a running gunbattle with soldiers in Columbio town in Sultan Kudarat province, 960 kilometres south of Manila.

Another communist guerrilla was also killed in a clash with government security forces in San Miguel town in Surigao del Sur province, 810 kilometres south of Manila.

Government troops recovered one Garand rifle, one pistol, one hand grenade and an emergency medical kit left behind by the fleeing rebels in the clashes.

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