A homemade bomb or a grenade concealed in a box Sunday went off in the market's meat section in General Santos City, southern Philippines, where officials immediately stepped up security, fearing more attacks.

"This is a terrorist attack by any measure," Senator Richard Gordon, who heads the Philippine Red Cross, said. He criticized the military and police for failing to prevent the attack despite what he said was intelligence information indicating a planned terror strike in the city.

"I'm getting reports from some of our people there that they knew there was a plan to pull this off but still it happened," Gordon said. "They need to bolster their spying and their surveillance of places that should be under guard."

He urged Red Cross chapters in nearby provinces to donate blood for the injured.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo strongly condemned the attack, saying there was no way to justify "this heinous deed" which followed a period of calm in General Santos, a bustling port city 1,000 kilometers south of Manila.

A bomb ripped through a shopping mall in General Santos in 2002, killing 14 people in an attack authorities there blamed on the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf and a larger separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Some of those arrested are being tried for multiple-murder charges.

Police investigator Captain Maximo Sebastian said three people were instantly killed by yesterday afternoon's bomb blast and other victims died in hospitals.

"The market was packed with people because there were Christmas flea market stalls there, and the explosion was powerful," Sebastian said.

Police cordoned off the area, fearing more explosives may have been planted, radio reports said.

Army Colonel Medardo Geslani, who heads a regional anti-terrorism force, said no group claimed responsibility and it was not yet clear if terrorist groups were involved.

"It was most possibly caused by an improvised explosive device," said Geslani, adding that security forces will bolster security in public places, intensify patrols and set up checkpoints.

Despite a crackdown by the military and police, Muslim militants are believed to still have a presence in General Santos, a predominantly Christian city of 500,000.

The sprawling archipelago has suffered a rash of bloody terror attacks and mass kidnappings in recent years that largely have been blamed on Muslim extremists.

Other rebels have staged attacks on security forces, local officials and infrastructure such as electricity and cell phone transmission towers.

The Philippines has been a key ally in the US war on terrorism, with Washington providing extensive counter-terrorism training and gear for the poorly equipped military.

(China Daily December 13, 2004)