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

One soldier was also wounded in the firefight in a village in Calbayog City in Samar province, 480 kilometres south-east of Manila, on Saturday.

Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres said the soldiers were on patrol when they clashed with an undetermined number of guerrillas.

He said government troops recovered four M14 rifles, two Claymore mines and a two-way radio after the firefight.

The Philippine military has vowed to step up offensives against communist guerrillas to eradicate the insurgency by 2010.

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)