Soldiers, acting on a resident's tip off, hunted down a small group of communist New People's Army guerrillas in a remote village in the eastern Philippines on Friday morning, a military statement said.Regional NPA commander Elmer Estrellado was killed in the ensuing 10 minute fire fight, which occurred in Camarines Sur province about 280 kilometres (170 miles) southeast of Manila, the statement said.

The clash was the first deadly incident between the two sides since government and rebel negotiators wrapped up week long talks in Norway on Monday.

At the end of that meeting, both sides said they hoped to forge a peace pact within 18 months.The communists have been waging a rebellion since 1969 and still have about 5,000 NPA guerrillas based in the mainly poor, rural areas of the Philippines.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, including dozens of rebels, civilians and security forces over the past few months.A ceasefire was in effect during the negotiations in Oslo but ended when the talks concluded.