Five killed in bomb attack in southern Philippines

MANILA, May 8 (Reuters) At least five people were killed and 35 wounded in a bomb explosion today near a public market in the southern Philippines, police said.

The explosion took place at a busy street corner in Tacurong City, said Inspector Benjamin de los Santos, the city's deputy police chief. Tacurong is on Mindanao, about 950 km south of Manila.

''We're not sure whether this was the handiwork of terrorists or politically motivated because of the elections,'' de los Santos told reporters, adding no group had claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Philippines goes to the polls on May 14 to elect the 275-seat House of Representatives, half the 24-member Senate and thousands of local government posts. Nearly 100 people have been killed in election-related violence since mid-January.

The area around Tacurong, in central Mindanao, is also plagued by a Muslim insurgency.

The United States and Australian governments have recently warned of terrorist attacks on Mindanao ahead of elections.

On April 29, police detonated a bomb made from two 81mm mortar rounds found near a shopping mall in Tacurong city.

At least three crude bombs have exploded in the central Mindanao region since April 18, killing two people and wounding four.

REUTERS HK BD1902