Manila  - Philippine troops have overran a communist rebel camp used by the guerrillas to make homemade bombs in the country's troubled south, an army commander said Friday.

One soldier was wounded in the raid on the mountain camp in Monkayo town, Compostela Valley province, 930 kilometres south of Manila, on Thursday, according to Major General Jogy Leo Fojas.

Fojas said troops swooped down on the area after military intelligence confirmed reports of civilians that guerrillas were holding camp there.

He said materials used in making improvised bombs and landmines were seized from the camp after the guerrillas abandoned the encampment.

The raid was conducted as part of efforts to rescue an army lieutenant captured by communist rebels after a firefight in the town on November 7, when two soldiers were killed.

Communist rebels have confirmed that Lieutenant Vicente Cammayo was being held as a "prisoner of war" and being investigated for atrocities against the Filipino masses.

They have warned that a rescue operation would put in danger Cammayo's life.

Communist rebels have in the past abducted soldiers and policemen, most of whom were freed unharmed after negotiations by local politicians.

The guerrillas have been fighting the Philippine government since the late 1960s, making the movement on of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia. (dpa)