MANILA, Philippines – Elite Army troops clashed with suspected communist guerillas in the southern province of Compostela Valley at dawn on Tuesday, leaving one rebel wounded, a regional military spokesman said.

At around 6 a.m., a four-man team from the 3rd Special Forces Battalion encountered seven New People's Army guerillas while on patrol in sitio (sub-village) Aslum, Mayaon village, Montevista town, sparking a brief exchange of fire, said Major Armand Rico of the Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom).

The rebels were seen carrying a wounded comrade as they retreated, Rico said in a text message to reporters, adding that troops recovered an M14 rifle and a magazine with live ammunition from the scene.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has given security forces until the end of her term in 2010 to "defeat" the NPA, the 5,470-strong armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

The NPA has been waging a guerilla campaign from the countryside for nearly four decades.