MANILA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 leftist rebels of the New People's Army (NPA) and five government soldiers were killed and over a dozen others were injured in a series of skirmishes in southern Bukidnon province on Sunday, the military reported Monday.

    The Armed Forces of the Philippines 4th Infantry Division spokesman Major Michelle Anayron told reporters that the clash started at the village of Sta Cruz around 7 a.m. local time (1100 GMT) when soldiers raided a rebel position, and ensued a four-hour gun battle.

    The camp was subsequently captured and the operating troops recovered two rebel bodies and two high-powered firearms.

    "Confirmed reports later revealed that additional three rebels were killed and was buried along the route of withdrawal of the retreating insurgents," said Anayron.

    At around 11:20 a.m. (1520 GMT) on Sunday, another group of soldiers caught up with retreating rebels at the nearby village of Lipa. The three-hour fighting resulted in the death of four soldiers and wounding of another while the rebels suffered six deaths.

    "Aside from the 11 dead, the rebels were reportedly wounded based on human intelligence gathered from intelligence operatives," said Anayron.

    The 5,400-member NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. It has been waging a guerrilla campaign on the countryside for 39 years. It halted peace talks with the government in 2003, irritated by the administration's inaction to remove it from the U.S. government's list of international terrorist organizations.