Cotabato City, Philippines - A government soldier was killed Tuesday in a landmine attack by Muslim separatist rebels in the southern Philippines, a military spokesman said.

Two soldiers were also hurt in the landmine explosion in Talayan town in Maguindanao province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, Major Randolph Cabangbang said.

Cabangbang said the soldiers were on their way back to their headquarters from a re-supply mission when a landmine exploded along the road, hitting the military truck they were riding in.

"The landmine was fashioned out of a mortar shell," he said. "There's an ongoing clearing operation at the blast site and our troops are checking for other mines."

Cabangbang said the landmine was believed to be have been planted by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels, who were retaliating for a military offensive in nearby Guindulungan town.

The offensive was launched late last week, resulting in the seizure of three MILF camps and the killing of more than 40 rebels in Guindulungan and Talayan towns.

The 12,000-strong MILF is the largest Muslim rebel group fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern region of Mindanao. It has been waging its separatist struggle since 1978.

It entered into peace talks with the Philippine government in 1997, but the negotiations have been suspended since August 2008 after the rebels launched a series of deadly attacks in Mindanao.

Nearly 300 people have been killed and more than 500,000 displaced due to the rebel attacks and subsequent fighting with the military.