Manila - Two communist rebels were killed in a clash with government troops in the eastern Philippines, a regional military spokeswoman said Thursday.

The fighting erupted late Wednesday when army troops encountered about a dozen guerrillas on the outskirts of Tabaco City in Albay province, 330 kilometres south-east of Manila, Captain Leah Santiago said.

Santiago said the soldiers recovered the bodies of the slain guerrillas and five assault rifles left behind by the fleeing rebels.

The government troops did not suffer any casualties in the fighting and pursuit operations were being conducted, she added.

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)