DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Xinhua) – A soldier was killed and seven others were wounded following a series of clashes between government troops and leftist rebels in this southern Philippine city yesterday, the military said today.

Private First Class Melecio Dalisay died when an improvised bomb believed planted by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels went off along a trail in the village of Mitondo, Toril district at 1:45 p. m. on Saturday, Captain Emmanuel Garcia, 10th Infantry Division public affairs chief, said.

Scout Ranger soldiers were pursuing an undetermined number of NPA gunmen when the makeshift landmine exploded, killing Dalisay, Garcia said.

Earlier in the day, government troops also engaged two groups of guerrillas five kilometers apart, but no casualties were reported, Garcia said, adding that the NPA rebels “suffered casualties in the series of clashes.”

The NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been waging a guerrilla campaign in the countryside for four decades. Military estimates the NPA strength at more than 5,000 men scattered in more than 60 guerrilla fronts throughout the country.

Peace talks between the government and the leftists bogged down in 2004 after the United States included the NPA and its parent body as foreign terrorist organizations.