Philippines bomb kills four, army blames Islamists

MANILA, May 8 (Reuters) A bomb killed four people and wounded 29 when it tore through a billiard hall in the southern Philippines today in an attack military officials blamed on an al Qaeda-linked Islamist group.

The blast took place at a busy street corner in Tacurong City, officials said. Tacurong is on the troubled island of Mindanao, about 950 km south of Manila.

Major-General Raymundo Ferrer, army commander in Cotabato on Mindanao, said initial inquiries indicated it was the handiwork of Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a regional militant network.

''It has all the signature of a terrorist attack,'' Ferrer told reporters, ruling out politics behind the attack.

''We have strong suspicions the JI carried out the attack to remind us they're still very much around. The target was obviously innocent people.'' Ferrer said four people were confirmed killed and 29 were wounded. Earlier, officials had reported five dead and 35 wounded, but Ferrer said some casualties had been counted twice in the initial confusion after the blast.

Benjamin de los Santos, Tacurong City's deputy police chief, said a suspect with known links to local Islamist militants had been identified.

''We have identified a possible suspect who was seen carrying a bag before the explosion,'' he told reporters.

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 the 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 KD VP0006