DIGOS, Philippines (AFP) — Philippine authorities on Tuesday said a deadly bus bombing in the troubled south that killed six people was the work of a crime gang and not Muslim separatist rebels.
They blamed a little-known gang called Al Khobar for Monday's attack on the Metro Shuttle bus at a terminal in Digos city.
One more person died from his wounds late Monday, raising the toll to six with more than 30 wounded, the military said in a updated report.
"This is not the handiwork of the MILF," provincial governor Douglas Cagas said, referring to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
"The investigation is continuing, but we believe this is the work of the Al Khobar gang," he said, and police and military forces remained on a heightened state of alert against any further attacks.
Officials had earlier warned the public to prepare for possible attacks by MILF rebels, who are on the run from a military offensive in the south after carrying out a series of raids on mostly Christian towns.
Cagas said sketches of the suspects had been circulated, and blamed the Al Khobar gang for a similar attack last month in which three people were killed, also in Digos.
The gang is composed mostly of former Muslim rebels who have since turned to banditry and prey on businesses in the south.
A Metro Shuttle official said last month that the gang had demanded 50,000 pesos (about 1,000 dollars) a month in extortion money, threatening attacks if it was not paid.
In the south meanwhile, fighting has left over 100 rebels and more than 40 soldiers and civilians dead so far.
The clashes have delayed peace talks between the government of President Gloria Arroyo and the MILF, which recently warned that the upsurge in violence could lead to a full-blown war.
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