Al-Qaida-linked militants suspected in Philippine bomb blast, attack on southern base

2 wounded in Philippine blast blamed on militants

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines — Muslim militants with ties to al-Qaida planted a bomb that wounded two civilians in the southern Philippines and in a separate attack shelled a runway near where U.S. counterterrorism troops are based, officials said Thursday.

There were no casualties among American or Filipino troops in the Abu Sayyaf attack on the airport on Jolo Island, where two U.S. troops died in a land mine blast last week, officials said.

On neighboring Basilan Island, another Abu Sayyaf stronghold, a homemade bomb packed with nails and hidden in a trash bin exploded late Wednesday, wounding a man and a woman, Lamitan town police chief Roland Democrito said.

“It was raining hard, and that probably helped prevent more casualties. Otherwise the area is packed with people,” he said.

No one has claimed responsibility, but police blamed the Abu Sayyaf, the prime suspect in a series of terrorist attacks and ransom kidnappings in the southern Philippines. The militants are believed to be receiving funds from al-Qaida and are on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations.

The Abu Sayyaf is believed to have about 400 fighters, and is suspected of sheltering militants from the larger Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah.

On Jolo, where the Abu Sayyaf has jungle strongholds and has evaded joint Philippine and U.S. military operations for years, Philippine security forces foiled an attack Tuesday on the military airport base, military spokesman Maj. Ramon David Hontiveros said.

He said the militants fired one mortar round at the end of the runway while they fled from troops pursuing them. Soldiers recovered six more unexploded rounds near the airport Wednesday, he said.

Last week, two U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers were killed when their military convoy ran over a land mine that was believed to have been planted by the Abu Sayyaf. Hours later, the militants damaged a bridge that was used to transport troops and equipment.

An estimated 600 U.S. troops are currently stationed in the southern Philippines to train and advise Filipino soldiers fighting the militants. They are barred by Philippine law from engaging in direct combat.