MANILA (XINHUA) - Two army soldiers and four New People's Army (NPA) fighters have been killed in a clash in southern Philippines' Malaybalay City, the military said on Friday (Feb 15).

A military report said the clash took place at around 9.40pm on Thursday night in a village where an 11-man army team constructing an army base was attacked by about 30 NPA rebels.

Initial fighting lasted about 15 minutes, the military said, adding that more troops were sent to the encounter site, triggering another five-minute clash.

"After the firefight, civilians overheard over commercial handheld radios the conversation of NPA rebels, (who said) that they lost four of their cohorts," a military statement said.

Clearing operations led to the recovery of two M-16 assault rifles, two unexploded anti-personnel mines connected to a 200m-long electrical wire, and two ammunition magazines for M-16s.

Military pursuit operations were ongoing against the fleeing rebels.

Thursday's clash was the latest attack launched by the rebels in recent weeks.

A similar clash took place on Jan 30 in Camarines Sur province, south of Manila, killing at least six.

Fresh attempts to talk peace with the NPA rebels failed anew after the government of President Rodrigo Duterte decided to suspend the negotiations after the insurgents continued their attacks on government security forces and civilians.