MANILA - Communist guerrillas killed three civilians including a high school student in an ambush on a truck in the central Philippines, police said on Monday.

About 30 rebels armed with assault rifles took part in the attack on Sunday on the remote island of Negros, police said in a statement.

Three other civilians, two aboard the truck and one pedestrian, were wounded in the incident near the town of Toboso.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but police blamed the main Communist rebel force, the New People's Army.

It was not known why they targeted the truck. The rebels generally only hit the security forces or target businesses as part of extortion activities, the statement added.

President Gloria Arroyo's government announced last week it plans to resume peace talks with the Maoist rebels, whose 5,200-member NPA has been waging a 40-year insurgency.