A soldier and two policemen were killed last week in two separate attacks by communist insurgents in the Philippines, officials said Sunday.
A lieutenant was killed and one of his men wounded on Tuesday when their group was ambushed during a humanitarian mission in Limbanan town, south of the Philippine capital Manila, regional military spokesman Major Jose Broso said.
On Saturday, two policemen were killed and four others wounded when fighters from the communist New People's Army (NPA) ambushed them in Catanduanes island, also south of Manila, a police report said.
On the same day, army soldiers clashed with NPA forces in the town of Laak on the southern island of Mindanao, regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Simbajon said.
About three to four guerrillas were seen being carried away by their comrades after the battle, although it was not clear if the rebels were wounded or dead, Simbajon said.
The 7,400-strong NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a Maoist insurgency in the country for 37 years.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo shelved peace talks with the communists in 2004 after the rebels were blacklisted by Manila's main ally the United States as a "foreign terrorist organisation".
Last month, Arroyo ordered the retraining and redeployment of troops to crush the communist insurgency in key regions around Manila within two years.