MANILA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Philippine government forces have captured another "child warrior" of the leftwing rebels, the New People's Army (NPA), following a brief firefight in the outskirts of Panukalan town in Quezon province east to Manila, a military spokesman said Tuesday.

    Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres named the captured rebel as Bryan Tumaclay, alias Balong, 16, who he said would undergo debriefing prior to his turnover to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

    The "child warrior" was captured during a fighting on Sunday between government forces and NPA rebels, said the spokesman.

    The military said it captured a number of NPA child warriors during the past few months. Soldiers also killed a nine-year-old girl who they said was with a band of fully armed rebels during a firefight in Mindanao in March.

    The girl's family and some left-leaning organizations said the victim is not an NPA rebel and that she was killed when bathing in a river near the battlefield.

    The NPA is a 7,000-strong leftwing rebel force engaging government troops and police since 1969 in the countryside.