Updated

Philippine police say two Swedish citizens and their Filipino driver were wounded, apparently in the crossfire, when communist guerrillas attempted to attack a police car in a central province.

A police report said a Swedish man was shot in the wrist and a Swedish woman was injured in the shoulder, while their Filipino van driver was wounded in the face, stomach and thigh during the attack Tuesday by the New People's Army in a village in the coastal town of Cauayan in Negros Occidental province.

The report said the five policemen in the patrol car, which was targeted by the insurgents, were not wounded. The rebels withdrew when army reinforcements arrived.

The communist rebellion in the Philippines has raged for 48 years, making it one of Asia's longest.