Peru army kills three guerrillas in clash

LIMA, March 20 (Reuters) - Peru's army said it killed three leftist guerrillas on Tuesday in a clash in which two soldiers were also wounded in Huancavelica department, about 250 miles (400 km) southeast of the capital Lima.

The guerrillas opened fire on an army patrol on a reconnaissance mission in the Huachocolpa zone shortly after midnight, a military communique said. It did not identify which group the rebels were from.

Huancavelica was a center of the Shining Path guerrillas in their 1980-2000 conflict with the government. The government blames the group for the bulk of the 69,000 deaths caused by the hostilities.

Rebel clashes with security forces have dwindled to a small number each year. On Dec. 16, in the last officially reported major clash, rebels killed five police in Ayacucho department.

Ayacucho, which neighbors Huancavelica, was the 1980 birthplace of the Shining Path insurgency.