ZAMBOANGA: Four communist guerrillas and a member of the security forces were killed Monday in clashes in the southern Philippines, the military said.

New People''s Army (NPA) guerrillas launched separate attacks on small military outposts near Pantukan and Talaingod towns on Mindanao island, said regional military spokesman Major Armand Rico.

Two NPA rebels and a member of a pro-government militia force armed by the military were killed in the three-hour firefight near Pantukan at dawn, he told reporters.

"Troops repelled the attack and killed two rebels, but one of our militias was also slain in the fighting," he added.

Rico said two NPA rebels were killed in the mid-morning attack near Talaingod. No government casualties were reported there, he added.

The NPA is the 5,000-member armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a 40-year Maoist rebellion.