Manila, Dec 11 - Two soldiers were killed in an attack by communist rebels in an eastern Philippine province, a regional army spokesperson said Friday.

Lieutenant Colonel Armand Rico said the soldiers were constructing school buildings in Calbiga town in Samar province, 555 km southeast of Manila, when the guerrillas attacked them Thursday.

Rico said more troops have been dispatched to the area to secure the engineering team helping construct the school buildings.

Communist rebels have been fighting the government since the late 1960s, making the movement one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia. (IANS)