Six communist rebels were killed in a clash with government troops in the northern Philippines, an army commander said Wednesday.
The clash erupted Tuesday evening in a village in Camiling town in Tarlac province, 135 kilometres north of Manila, army Colonel Henry Sabare said.
The fighting lasted until dawn on Wednesday, when troops recovered the bodies of the guerrillas, Sabare added.
The clash was the latest between government forces and communist rebels in the absence of formal negotiations on a settlement. Both sides say however that peace talks aimed at ending one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia have not collapsed.
Rebel leaders based in the Netherlands have expressed doubts that the negotiations, which have been stalled since 2004, would resume under the administration of President Benigno Aquino.