Philippine security forces began hunting for suspects Tuesday and investigating claims by Muslim rebels after explosions in Manila and two southern cities killed at least 11 people on Valentine's Day.

Abu Sayyaf, a small Muslim militant group linked to al-Qaida, said it carried out the attacks in crowded public places on Monday to punish the government for a heavy military offensive on its strongholds on the southwestern island of Jolo.

"It's too early to tell," Norberto Gonzales, the national security adviser, said.

"We're looking at several angles, including the networking of foreign militants and home-grown rebel groups."

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appeared determined.

"We must not pull back but move forward to wipe out the remnants of Abu Sayyaf," she said, rejecting calls for a truce on Jolo. "This is not a fight against Islam."

Army and police intelligence officials said they were not ruling out a role by Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a shadowy regional network linked to al-Qaida and the suspected fund-raiser for previous attacks by Abu Sayyaf and other Philippine groups.

"We cannot accept Abu Sayyaf's claim hook, line and sinker," a police counter-terrorism official said.

The peso currency was slightly weaker against the dollar but the main stock index rose 0.27 percent.
 
Edgardo Aglipay, the national police chief, said his 115,000 officers were placed on full alert to assist in the manhunt.

He released two sketches of suspects in the attacks in Manila's business district and at a bus terminal in the southern port city of Davao but dismissed the Abu Sayyaf claim.

"It could be a ploy to mislead our investigation," Aglipay said. "We want our findings to be backed by evidence."

Rogue rebels

The three blasts in the largely Roman Catholic country came closely together on Monday evening as people were travelling home, shopping and going out for dinner on Valentine's Day.

"The people were screaming and running in all directions," said one man in General Santos, also in the troubled south, after four died at a shopping mall.

Six people were killed in Manila and one in Davao, with more than 150 wounded in the three attacks.
 
In February 2004, more than 100 people were killed when a bomb planted by Abu Sayyaf sank a ferry near Manila Bay.

An army intelligence official said the attacks in General Santos and Davao could be the work of a rogue group within the 11,000-member Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is due to resume peace talks in March.

"JI provided direction and technical assistance in building the bombs, but the locals carried out the attacks," he said.

Security analysts and Philippine officials say about 30 Indonesian militants from JI and other groups are active in the south, training and advising local rebels.

Several key figures in JI, which is accused of the 2002 Bali bombings and other attacks in the region, have been arrested or killed in the Philippines.

(China Daily February 16, 2005)