Lima- Two soldiers were killed and another five injured in an attack by militants of the Maoist Shining Path group in southern Peru, local media reported Wednesday, citing the country's military.

The attack in the central mountain area of Vizcatan in the Ayacucho region was the second in less than a week. On October 9, thirteen soldiers and two civilians were killed in an attack in the same area.

The incidents mark a revival of Shining Path violence which had brought the country to near-destruction in the 1980s, when the rebel group exercised terror in its self-declared quest to set up a communist regime.

However, Shining Path was virtually dismantled following the arrest in 1992 of its leader Abimael Guzman.

According to security experts, the new attacks are connected to increased Peruvian military operations in regions where remnants of the Shining Path are cooperating with drug traffickers.

Since August, such operations have especially targetted the VRAE region, comprising the provinces of Junin, Ayacucho and Cusco, where there is also a strong presence of drug traffickers.

Remnants of Shining Path are present in some jungle and Andean areas of Peru. (dpa)