Manila  - Three government militiamen were hurt Thursday in a landmine attack by communist rebels in the southern Philippines, the military said.

Soldiers and militiamen were on patrol in Matanao town in Davao del Sur province, 1,095 kilometres south of Manila, when the guerrillas set off the landmine.

Staff Sergeant Reynaldo Bigno, an army detachment commander, said soldiers returned fire, but there were no reported rebel casualties.

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)