Four people were killed and three injured in a grenade attack in a popular district in downtown Manila not far from the Malacanang presidential compound Sunday evening, said police.

A two-year-old girl and a housemaid were killed on the spot, while two others died when they were rushed to hospital, said police.

The grenade explosion took place inside a house in the crowded neighborhood of Legarda Street in Sampaloc, Manila, about 07:30 PM.

Senior Inspector Rudy Moreno, deputy chief of the Western Police District Mobile Patrol, said a grenade was lobbed inside the house of Gutierrez family but the identity of the suspect was not immediately known as it was raining hard when the incident took place.

However, witnesses said they saw a man running away from the site seconds before the explosion was heard.

Moreno said those killed instantly were a two-year old girl and the family's housemaid identified only as Jocelyn.

However, the identity of the girl was not immediately known as there were six children watching television inside the house when the blast occurred.

Police are still determining the motive for the attack, although they have ruled out the possibility of terrorism, said Director Vidal Querol, head of the National Capital Region Police.

The latest terrorist attack in Metro Manila took place on Feb. 14, when a passenger bus was blown up near the financial district of Makati, killing at least four people. The Abu Sayyaf group was blamed for the attack.

(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2005)