Bomb blast near south Philippine cathedral kills 4

Cayton immediately blamed the 11,500-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has been targeted by a monthslong military offensive in nearby Maguindanao province and outlying regions.

"Nobody has the motive, the capability and the track record to carry out this terrorist attack except" the group, Cayton told The AP.

Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu denied his group was involved and condemned the bombing.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Romero Brawner said investigators were trying to determine if the attackers targeted the military van.

"They will hit any place where civilians congregate. They have no regard for life," Brawner said.

A similar bomb went off on a roadside in Datu Piang township in nearby Maguindanao late Saturday, wounding three people in an attack believed to have also been staged by the rebels, Brawner said.

The rebels have waged a decades-long battle for self-rule in the southern Mindanao region, homeland of Muslims in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation.

Malaysian-brokered peace talks between the government and the rebels collapsed last year when a preliminary deal on an expanded Muslim autonomous region fell apart, sparking new deadly clashes that have displaced large numbers of villagers.

Cotabato city, about 545 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila, has been hit previously by deadly bombings blamed on Muslim rebels and extortion gangs.

A bomb exploded at a Cotabato city bus terminal in February, wounding two people. A 2007 bomb blast at another terminal killed a child and wounded 36 people.

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