Manila  - Three communist rebels were killed Saturday in a clash with government troops in a southern Philippine province, a military report said.

Three soldiers were wounded in the fighting that erupted when government troops raided before dawn a large guerrilla camp in Quezon town in Bukidnon province, 900 kilometres south of Manila.

The fighting lasted for more than three hours before the soldiers overran the camp and forced the guerrillas to escape into the jungle.

Troops recovered three assault rifles, eight landmines, three sacks of bomb-making materials, one heavy-duty power generator, one computer printer and one laptop computer left behind by the fleeing rebels.

More troops have been dispatched to the area to conduct pursuit operations.

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