Second explosion rocks southern Philippines

CEBU, Philippines, Jan 10 (Reuters) A blast shook a provincial capital in the Philippines today, hours after a crude bomb killed six people and wounded 23 in another southern city as the country prepared to host a regional summit.

Police in Kidapawan City said there was an explosion a few metres away from their station and the main market. There were no immediate reports of any injuries.

Earlier, a bomb in a public market killed six people in General Santos city, a trade hub south of Kidapawan on the island of Mindanao, where Muslim and communist insurgents are fighting long-running rebellions.

Western governments had warned that militants could bomb a summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and a wider meeting of East Asian leaders on January 13-15 in the central Philippines or attack cities in the south.

Reuters KD GC1958