'6 Philippines troops killed in rebel attack'

Communist guerrillas ambushed security forces in the southern Philippines, killing six soldiers and wounding two others, the military said on Saturday.

Communist guerrillas ambushed security forces in the southern Philippines, killing six soldiers and wounding two others, the military said on Saturday.

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New People's Army (NPA) gunmen set off landmines as the 14-member unit approached the mountainous village of Manurigao, on Mindanao island on Friday, said their battalion commander Lieutenant-Colonel Manuel Sequitin.

The attack killed six soldiers including an officer who had been assigned to liaise with local officials ahead of a planned mission next month by military doctors on the impoverished hamlet, he said in a written report.

Two other soldiers were wounded, Sequitin added.

The NPA, a 5,000-member guerrilla group, has been waging a Maoist-style insurgency for nearly 40 years.