Zamboanga - The Philippine military said a bomb that killed at least five people in a food court on Sunday in the south may be linked to the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim rebel group with ties to Osama bin Laden. Police said a second bomb packed in a bag of boiled duck eggs had failed to go off and they had detonated it. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, which injured scores of people. Separate clashes pitting government troops against Muslim separatists and against communist rebels erupted at the weekend in other parts of Mindanao, the main southern Philippine island.
US military personnel are providing advice and assessment to the Philippines on dealing with Abu Sayyaf, the US Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, said yesterday.