MANILA - COMMUNIST insurgents who claimed to have wounded a US soldier mistook a light-skinned Filipino for an American, a Philippine military spokesman said on Tuesday.

The communist New People's Army (NPA) said it had wounded a US soldier helping local troops on the central island of Masbate two weeks ago, citing this as evidence of illegal US involvement in counter-insurgency operations.

A local military spokesman confirmed that a soldier had been wounded in the operation, but denied he was an American.

'We had a wounded soldier who is of mixed ancestry and that is probably who they mistook' for an American, said Major Chris Morales. 'There were no US troopers wounded. There are no US troops with the (Philippine) army. The only ones here are engineers and nurses who are not armed,' said Morales.

US military personnel have been deployed in the Philippines, taking part in annual joint exercises with local soldiers and in civic and medical assistance projects in poor communities.

US ambassador Kristie Kenney brushed off the NPA's claim, saying 'there are no casualties among US forces here and that is a good thing.'

The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has denounced the US presence in this country as a prelude to 'US military intervention' in a 40-year insurgency, and has threatened to harm US troops.

On April 22, NPA guerillas attacked Filipino soldiers guarding US troops on a medical mission but no Americans were harmed in the incident. -- AFP