MANILA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Two soldiers and two leftist rebels were killed in a firefight in the central Philippines on Friday morning, the military said.
The Philippine military said the clash broke out at around 7:15 a.m. local time in a village in Samar province.
According to a military report, the government troops were on patrol when they found seven heavily-armed New People's Army (NPA) rebels.
The report said a two-hour firefight ensued, resulting in the death of two army soldiers and two rebels. Another army soldier was wounded, the report added.
The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), has been fighting the Philippine government since the 1960s.
Efforts to reach a peace deal between the government and the rebels have failed so far.
