Manila - Communist rebels attacked an army outpost in a southern Philippine province, killing a government militiaman and wounding a soldier, officials said Tuesday.

Troops had just finished dinner Monday when the guerrillas opened fire at their outpost in Santa Fe village, New Corella town, in Davao del Norte province, 960 kilometres south of Manila.

"The rebels opened fire from a distance," said Colonel Noel Coballes, an Army brigade commander. "Two of our troops were just not lucky and were hit."

Coballes said soldiers returned fire, but it was not clear if the rebels suffered any casualties.

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