Bomb attacks rock southern Philippines

Protests in Jolo have often turned violent

MANILA, Philippines -- Two bomb blasts have rocked the southern Philippines, killing at least five people and wounding dozens.

A bomb tore through the lower floor of a movie house in a Zamboanga shopping mall near the Philippine military southern command post on Saturday, injuring several people.

That explosion followed an earlier blast on Saturday at a public market on the island of Jolo, leaving at least five people dead and 45 wounded.

Officials said it was too early to link the attacks to each other.

The Philippine military says the Jolo bombing could be the work of Abu Sayyaf, a militant group allegedly connected to the al Qaeda terrorist network.

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"We are looking at two angles. It could be an act of retaliation by gangs operating extortion activities at public markets," Army Colonel Romeo Tolentino told reporters.

"The other possibility is it could be a diversionary attack of the Abu Sayyaf," he said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast. There are a host of Muslim groups including the Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front based on the island and the Philippine police and military say they need time to investigate the attack.

The blasts coincide with the deployment of U.S. troops to Basilan, 900 km (560 miles) south of Manila, for controversial joint training exercises with the Philippine military.

The deployment is the most significant expansion of the U.S.-led war on terror since the Afghanistan campaign.

The exercise is aimed at helping the Philippine government in its fight against Abu Sayyaf -- a Muslim guerilla group based on the island and still holding three hostages it captured eight months ago.

Critics

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's approval of the training has sparked protests.

Critics say the war games could be used to justify involving the U.S. soldiers in combat situations -- something that goes against the Philippine constitution.

They also say the president should not be looking to its close ally to solve what is essentially a domestic problem.

However, despite increasing the number of Filipino soldiers in Basilan to fight the Abu Sayyaf -- estimated to number 100 to several hundred guerillas -- to 6,000, little progress has been made.

The first deployment of around 25 U.S. troops to the island will pave the way for the arrival of about 150 special forces soldiers in the coming few days.

About 500 other U.S. military personnel will remain stationed in nearby Zamboanga.

The explosion at the Jolo market is the latest violence in the town.

More than 20 people have been killed in gunfights between police and soldiers earlier this week.

The jailed former governor of Mindanao – a Muslim-majority province in the south of the Philiipines – Nur Misuari has been the subject of often violent protest rallies.

Misuari was deported from Malaysia earlier this month to face charges of inciting a rebellion in November that led to more than 100 deaths.