Four killed, dozens injured in Philippine blast

Four people were killed and more than a dozen injured Monday when a bomb ripped through a passenger bus in the southern Philippines, the police said.

The Davao Metro Shuttle bus was parked at a public transport terminal in Digos City, Davao Del Sur province, some 1,000 km south of Manila, when the explosion occurred.

Superintendent Cesario Darantinao, provincial police chief, said four passengers were confirmed dead in the blast.

'More than a dozen victims are still being treated in hospitals,' he said.

Darantinao said the bomb could have been detonated remotely.

Chief Inspector Anthony Padua, city police chief, said it was the second bomb attack on the bus company since July 24, when two people were killed and 30 injured in a bombing also in Digos City.

Padua said the bus was totally damaged from the explosion, which he said was more powerful than last month's bombing.

Authorities had blamed an extortion gang composed of rogue Muslim separatist rebels for the bombing last month. It was not immediately known if the same group was behind the latest attack.