Two soldiers were killed Sunday and four others wounded in an attack by communist rebels in the southern Philippines, the military said, according to DPA. The soldiers were travelling aboard a military truck from their detachment to Bislig town in the southern province of Surigao del Sur when attacked early morning. Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Simbajon, an army infantry commander, said the rebels exploded a landmine along the road as the soldiers' truck passed by. "The soldiers were towing another military truck from their detachment in Hinatuan town to Bislig when they were ambushed," he said. The ambush followed a failed attack by communist rebels on the Hinatuan detachment last Friday, which injured at least 10 guerrillas. Major Emmanuel Aguaviva, an army spokesman, said more than 50 rebels swooped down on the Hinatuan outpost, but were repulsed by soldiers. "Based on accounts of our soldiers, 10 rebels were wounded," he said. Communist rebels have been fighting the Philippine government since the late 1960s, making the movement one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia.
