Two army soldiers were wounded after suspected left-wing rebels ambushed their convoy in the central Philippine province of Negros Occidental, the military said on Wednesday.

Troops from the 11th Infantry Battalion were in the vicinity of San Isidro village, Toboso town at around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday when the New People's Army (NPA) guerillas opened fire, said Colonel Gregorio Fajardo, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade.

Two soldiers were wounded and were brought to a nearby hospital for treatment, Fajardo said.

"It was a hasty ambush on troops on board a military truck," Fajardo said.

Two weeks ago, the NPA attacked a major airport project in Silay City in the same province, damaging 30 million pesos (600, 000 U.S. dollars) worth of infrastructure and property. Five suspected rebels, including three minors, have been arrested over the attack.

The 7,400-strong NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). It has been waging a guerilla campaign in the countryside for over three decades.

Peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political arm of the CPP, have been stalled since August 2004 after the rebels protested their inclusion in the United States and European Union's lists of terrorist organizations.

Source: Xinhua