Manila (DPA) - A soldier and two communist rebels were killed when government troops raided a guerrilla encampment in central Philippines, the military said Monday.
About 40 soldiers swooped down on the encampment as the rebels were preparing breakfast on Sunday in the village of Dalid in Tabuelan town, Cebu province, 540 kms south of Manila.
According to a military report, authorities ordered the raid after receiving information about the presence of armed groups in the area.
The report said a two-hour firefight erupted when the rebels sensed the soldiers and opened fire. When the rebels retreated, troops found two bodies left in the camp, while one soldier was also killed, the report added.
One of the slain rebels was identified as Jerry Badayos, secretary of a regional committee of the New People's Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Communist rebels have been fighting the Philippine government since the late 1960s, making the movement one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia.
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