MANILA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Philippine troops on Monday killed two suspected rebels in a clash in Masbate, an island province in the central Philippines, a military report said.
The report said the fighting broke out between troops and around 10 New People's Army (NPA) insurgents around 7 a.m. in a village in Cawayan town. The gunfight resulted in the killing of the two rebels, and no soldier was killed or wounded in the clash, it added.
Troops recovered an M16 assault rifle, a revolver, a homemade shotgun left behind by the fleeing rebels.
NPA rebels have been fighting the government troops since 1969. They concentrated their attacks on rural areas and have skirmishes with the military.
Military data showed that the NPA is estimated to have 2,000 members, significantly lower than its peak strength in the 1980s. ■
