MANILA - Two soldiers and a village official were slain by communist insurgents in the southern Philippines Wednesday, the military said, just as the rebels prepared to resume peace talks with the government.

An Army sergeant, a corporal and village district chairman Juan Bacharo were riding a motorcycle on their way for a meeting with local officials in Monkayo town in Compostela province in Mindanao when they were shot in an ambush by about 10 members of the communist New People's Army (NPA), a military statement said.

All three were killed in the attack, the statement said, adding that troops were pursuing the attackers.

The attack came a week after the government's chief peace negotiator said peace talks aimed at ending the Philippines' 40-year Maoist rebellion were set to resume in Norway next month.

The NPA, whose membership ballooned to more than 26,000 in the mid-1980s, has dwindled to 5,000 armed members, according to military estimates.