MANILA, April 23 (Reuters) - Philippine soldiers captured a communist rebel base after fierce fighting on the central island of Samar, an army spokesman said on Monday.

Lieutenant-Colonel Ernesto Torres said the soldiers stormed the rebel base near the town of Lope de Vega on Friday, engaging dozens of Maoist-led New People's Army guerrillas in a brief but fierce battle.

"We did not lose any soldiers, but our boys believe they inflicted heavy losses on the rebel side," Torres told reporters in Manila, adding the guerrillas left supplies and war materials when they fled from the base. No casualties were left behind.

Torres said the base had a network of trenches and bunkers that could accommodate about 30 people. It was strategically located to control the highway on Samar, a hotbed of communist rebel movement.

The Philippines sees the 7,000-member NPA as the country's biggest security threat. The guerrilla force has led one of the world's longest-running insurgencies, one that has killed more than 40,000 people since 1969.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered an all-out war on rebels, who are based in rural areas in 69 of 81 provinces, engaging security forces in deadly tit-for-tat battles.

Peace talks, brokered by Norway, collapsed in 2004 when the United States and some European states put the NPA and founder and leader of the Philippine communist party, Jose Maria Sison, on terrorism blacklists.

Torres said four people, including two rebels, were killed in another skirmish between security forces and the NPA guerrillas in another part of Samar island on Saturday.

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