Davao City, Philippines - Four soldiers facing communist rebels in the southern Philippines were wounded earlier today.

Major Randolph Cabangbang said the victims were pursuing fleeing communist rebels when a landmine planted by the guerrillas exploded late Monday in Banganga town in Davao Oriental province, 990 kilometres south of Manila.

Cabangbang said one of the soldiers was seriously wounded in the explosion, while three suffered minor injuries and were already in stable condition.

On Monday, communist rebels released a videotape of a junior army officer they have been holding captive for almost one month in the adjacent province of Compostela Valley.

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