Manila  - One government soldier and two communist rebels were killed Sunday in separate incidents in the southern Philippines, the military said.

An army sergeant was killed when a military truck hit a rebel landmine in Panabo City in Davao del Norte province, 990 kilometres south of Manila.

Major General Raymundo Ferrer, a regional military commander, said three soldiers were also wounded in the blast.

He said the troops were on their way to Paquibato district in Davao City to conduct preparations for a humanitarian mission.

More than an hour later, two communist rebels were killed in a clash with troops who were on combat patrol in a village in Talaingod town in Davao del Norte.

Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner said the military suffered no casualties in the Talaingod combat.

Troops recovered three rifles and the bodies of the slain rebels, he said.

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)