Two prominent Shining Path rebels were believed to have been killed in a clash with Peruvian security forces in the southeastern part of Peru, reported local media reported Monday.

The killed could be Marco Antonio Quispe, or "Comrade Gabriel," a cocaine-running heavyweight, and Alejandro Borda Casafranca, or "Comrade Alipio," the second-in-command of the group's reduced jungle faction, said local media reports.

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala said in a TV segment further DNA testing would be performed to confirm the identities of the killed rebels, adding the attack would be the biggest blow to the rebel group and the drug-trafficking operations they control.

The clash occurred Sunday night in a place known as Llochegua in the jungle region of Ayacucho, 622 kilometers of Lima, the national capital of Peru, where the rebel group Shining Path guerrillas work in partnership with cocaine traffickers.

The rebel group, which started insurgency in 1980 and was held responsible for the deaths and missing of some 69,000 people, was disbanded in September 1992 with the capture of its paramount leader Abimael Guzman, but its fighters later took refuge in the jungle region and have survived until now.