Manila - Government troops have seized a communist rebel training camp in the southern Philippines, a military report said Monday.

The report said the camp was seized over the weekend after hours of fighting in Monkayo town in Compostela Valley province, 930 kilometres south of Manila.

The encampment consisted of several thatch huts that can accommodate about 100 people, at least 20 foxholes and observation posts.

There were no casualties on the government side during the firefight and bloodstains in the encampment indicated the rebels suffered casualties.

More troops have been dispatched to the area to pursue the rebels.

Zamboanga City, Philippines - A Catholic priest survived an attack by suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants Saturday in the southern Philippines, but four of his security escorts were wounded, a Marine officer said.

The priest, identified as Mon Libot, and his security escorts of Marines and pro-government militiamen were aboard a vehicle when they were attacked by suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels in Sumisip town in Basilan province, 900 kilometres south of Manila.

The officer said the priest was unhurt except for bruises on his body, while the four wounded security escorts were being treated in a nearby hospital.

More troops were dispatched to the area to pursue the attackers.

Cotabato City, Philippines - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Saturday vowed no let-up in the military offensive against Muslim rebels who seized villages and attacked towns in a strife-torn southern region of Mindanao.

Arroyo visited an army camp near Cotabato City Saturday and exhorted soldiers to continue operations against Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels who launched attacks in the nearby provinces in August.

"I count on you soldiers to isolate the lawless Moro rebels," she said in a short speech after giving medals and commendations to soldiers involved in the offensive.

Cotabato City, Philippines - One soldier was killed Thursday in a clash with Muslim separatist rebels in the southern Philippines, a regional military spokesman said.

The fighting erupted at dawn when Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels attacked a group of soldiers who were on their way to an army outpost in Aleosan town in North Cotabato province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, Major Randolph Cabangbang said.

The fatality was an army sergeant who died while being treated for gunshot wounds in a nearby hospital, Cabangbang said.

Manila - Before flying back to California after a short vacation in Manila, Raymond Gornis visited the site of a condominium project in the bustling Araneta Center in Quezon City, where he plans to buy a unit.

Gornis, 36, has been shuffling between two jobs as a school teacher and storekeeper in a video store in California for the past four years to save money to invest in properties and to start a small business in his eastern home province of Sorsogon.

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