Manila  - Philippine troops on Thursday seized a cache of firearms and ammunition believed to belong to communist rebels, an army spokesman said.

Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner said the arms cache was found in a remote village in Santa Cruz town in Occidental Mindoro province, 180 kilometres south of Manila.

Brawner said the seized items were 10 M16 rifles, two M14 rifles, one M653, one Garand rifle, one Carbine rifle, one shotgun and various ammunition, including mortar rounds.

He said a communist rebel captured on Wednesday gave information about the arms cache during interrogation.

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)