Manila  - A Filipino broadcast journalist was shot dead in the eastern Philippines in the seventh deadly attack against media in the country this year, police said Wednesday.

Leo Mina was shot in front of the local radio station in San Roque town in Northern Samar province, 585 kilometres south-east of Manila, on Tuesday evening.

Regional police direction Abner Cabalquinto said Mina had just exited the station when unidentified gunmen opened fire at him.

He said police were looking into the possibility that communist rebels could be behind the murder, noting that Mina was very vocal against the guerrillas' extortion activities in the province.

Manila  - Five soldiers were killed when communist rebels exploded a landmine during an ambush in the southern Philippines, an army spokesman said Wednesday.

Two soldiers were wounded in the blast Tuesday in the village of Ganayon in Lianga town in Surigao del Sur province, 885 kilometres south of Manila.

Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner, Army spokesman, said the soldiers were on their way back to headquarters when they were ambushed by the communist rebels.

"Government troops also lost five firearms, ammunition, a laptop, cellular phones and personal belongings," he said.

Four of the slain soldiers died on the spot, while one was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital, Brawner said.

Manila - Philippine security forces on Tuesday arrested a Bangladeshi national suspected of being a terrorist and seized two homemade bombs in his rented apartment in a southern province, a police report said.

A joint police and military team arrested the suspect, identified as Muhammad Alpariz, in Shariff Kabunsuan town in Maguindanao province, 930 kilometres south of Manila, based on a warrant issued by a local judge.

The police report said Alpariz was believed to be a member of the regional Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group and an expert in making homemade bombs.

Davao City, Philippines - Four soldiers were wounded in a clash with communist rebels in the southern Philippines, a regional military spokesman said Tuesday.

Major Randolph Cabangbang said the victims were pursuing fleeing communist rebels when a landmine planted by the guerrillas exploded late Monday in Banganga town in Davao Oriental province, 990 kilometres south of Manila.

Cabangbang said one of the soldiers was seriously wounded in the explosion, while three suffered minor injuries and were already in stable condition.

On Monday, communist rebels released a videotape of a junior army officer they have been holding captive for almost one month in the adjacent province of Compostela Valley.

Manila - Philippine shares plunged 4.65 per cent on Tuesday tracking the decline in Wall Street and other international markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange's 30-share composite index lost 91.70 points to close at 1,879.87, from Monday's finish of 1,971.57.

A total of 488.76 million shares valued at 1.03 billion pesos (21.02 million dollars) were traded.

Losers swamped gainers 86 to 17, while 21 issues were unchanged.