Manila rules out al-Qaeda links with suspect bombers

Five people were killed in Sunday's bomb attack in Zamboanga

MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine police have dismissed any links between three suspected bombers in their custody and the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind of the September 11 terror attacks in the United States.

One of the suspects had earlier claimed involvement with the network, but that was ruled out Thursday by Philippine National Police Director General Leandro Mendoza, Reuters news agency reported.

Five people were killed and dozens injured Sunday evening when a bomb ripped through a popular food court in the Southern Philippine city of Zamboanga. Police immediately arrested and detained three suspects.

Rumors of possible links between the suspects and the al-Qaeda network quickly spread when one of them admitted during interrogation to being a member of the terrorist group.

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Two of the suspects were allegedly recruited into the Abu Sayyaf group in the late 1990s, Mendoza said.

The Abu Sayyaf, which claims to be fighting for an independent Muslim homeland but pursues kidnap for ransom as its primary activity, has been holding two Americans and 16 Filipinos hostage for more than four months on the southern island of Basilan.

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They beheaded American hostage Guillermo Sobero in June in retaliation for intense military operations in their jungle lair on one of the islands in Mindanao. His corpse was discovered last month.

Philippine intelligence officials have said al-Qaeda provided funds and support to the Abu Sayyaf in the early 1990s, but is thought to have cut off its links around 1995.