Manila  - Two communist rebels were killed Sunday in a clash with government troops in a southern Philippine province, an army spokesman said.

Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner said the combat occurred in a village in Talaingod town in Davao del Norte province, 990 kilometres south of Manila.

Brawner said the military suffered no casualties.

Troops recovered three rifles and the bodies of the slain rebels after the firefight, he said.

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)