Nearly 3,000 Philippine government soldiers and rebels were killed in their clashes this year, the military said Friday.

The death toll was calculated from 1,455 encounters in various parts of the country. Of the 2,838 killed, 723 were from the government side, 1,810 from the New People's Army (NPA), 171 from the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group, 118 from the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front and 16 from the Misuari Breakaway Group, the military said in its year-end report.

Government security forces suffered the heaviest casualties battling the NPA, with 458 soldiers dead, according to the report.

The single biggest number of casualties in fighting with the NPA occurred on November 19, when a landmine believed to be planted by the rebels exploded, killing nine soldiers and wounding 20 others, the report noted.

The surge of violent encounters between the military and the NPA followed the breakdown of peace talks in August 2004 after the insurgents protested their inclusion in the United States and European Union's lists of terrorist organizations.

Source: Xinhua