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| Bomb hits Philippine church-goers | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| A bomb blast outside a Roman Catholic cathedral in the southern Philippines has killed four people and injured at least 26 others, officials say. | |
| The military immediately blamed the attack in the town of Cotabato, Mindanao, on a militant group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. | The military immediately blamed the attack in the town of Cotabato, Mindanao, on a militant group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. |
| The group has been fighting to establish a separate Islamic state. | The group has been fighting to establish a separate Islamic state. |
| One of its leaders denied any involvement in the attack, saying there was no religious conflict in the south. | One of its leaders denied any involvement in the attack, saying there was no religious conflict in the south. |
| The bomb went off outside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception as people were leaving Mass, the army said. | The bomb went off outside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception as people were leaving Mass, the army said. |
| Police told AFP news agency that two of the dead were soldiers guarding the cathedral. | Police told AFP news agency that two of the dead were soldiers guarding the cathedral. |
| Militant denial | Militant denial |
| A military spokesman, Col Jonathan Ponce, said rogue MILF militants were suspected of planting the bomb. | A military spokesman, Col Jonathan Ponce, said rogue MILF militants were suspected of planting the bomb. |
| "The rebels are getting desperate and they are no longer choosing their targets," he said. | "The rebels are getting desperate and they are no longer choosing their targets," he said. |
| "They are now attacking even places of worship." | "They are now attacking even places of worship." |
| But a leader of the MILF, Mohaqher Iqbal, denied his group had been involved in the attack. | But a leader of the MILF, Mohaqher Iqbal, denied his group had been involved in the attack. |
| "Who needs a Christian-Muslim conflict?" he told Reuters news agency in a mobile phone text message. | "Who needs a Christian-Muslim conflict?" he told Reuters news agency in a mobile phone text message. |
| "There's no religious conflict in the south. We're fighting for our right of self-determination. We're only defending our people and our communities." | "There's no religious conflict in the south. We're fighting for our right of self-determination. We're only defending our people and our communities." |