Manila  - Three communist rebels were killed Thursday in a pre-dawn clash with government troops in a northern Philippine province, an army spokesman said.

Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres said one soldier was also wounded in the firefight in the village of Galintuha in Maria Aurora town in Aurora province, 150 kilometres north-east of Manila.

Torres said the rebels were "reportedly planning to conduct harassment or attack" on a nearby outpost of government militiamen when the soldiers encountered them, triggering the clash.

"Their planned atrocities were preempted by the military," he said.

Troops recovered the bodies of the slain rebels, as well as four rifles and personal belongings.

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)