Communist guerrillas killed 11 Philippine soldiers Saturday in a gun battle on Mindoro island, south of the capital, a military spokesman said. The soldiers were on patrol when they ran into a fortified camp of the New People's Army (NPA) guerrilla group, said Colonel Romeo Brawner. Seven soldiers were also wounded in the ensuing battle, with "undetermined casualties" among the rebels, he added. "The troops fought it out literally to the last bullet," Brawner said. Among the dead was the lieutenant who led the patrol, he added. Soldiers backed by helicopter gunships had been sent to Mindoro to track down the NPA insurgents, he said. The battle was the fiercest fighting to involve the NPA and the military since nine rebels and one soldier were killed in a raid on a guerilla camp on the southern island of Mindanao in December.