MANILA, Oct. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Eight rebels of the New People's Army (NPA) were killed following a fierce firefight with government forces the northern Philippines, the military said Tuesday.

    Military spokesman Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual said that the firefight broke out on Saturday evening in Penaranda, Nueva Ecija,after some "concerned residents" reported to the troops the presence of at least 30 armed rebels in the area.

    After a two-hour firefighting, the rebels withdrew toward different directions, leaving eight unidentified bodies, Pascual said.

    Less than three hours after the firefight, the troops re-encountered the fleeing rebels near the area, he said.

    "After a five-minute firefight, the rebels dispersed under the cover of darkness," he added.

    The clash is the third setback the rebel group suffered in pastweeks.

    About two weeks ago, nine NPA members were killed following a clash with Army forces in Compostela Valley of the southern islands of Mindanao.

    Last Sunday, another clash occurred in the same town between the two forces, resulting in the killing of three NPA rebels, who,as military said, attempted to attack police detachments in the area.

    As a response, NPA rebels last week staged three ambuscades in Davao Oriental, Cagayan Valley and Palawan, resulting in the killing of four policemen, two soldiers and a civilian, and the injuring of four other soldiers.

    The NPA's spokesman, Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal, Monday releaseda statement, saying that it would step up attacks against the military to speed up the overthrow of the government.

    A fresh round of negotiations between the Philippine governmentand the NPA's political wing, the National Democratic Front (NDF),in Norway did not push through in August due to the NDF's apparentdissatisfaction with the government's efforts to remove the NPA from the list of terrorist groups of the United States and the European Union.

    The currently 8,600-strong NPA has been waging a 35-year insurgency in the remote areas in the Philippines. Enditem