Blast kills 6, wounds dozens in Philippine

A powerful blast ripped througha crowded popular nightclub in a southern Philippine city lateon Friday, killing six people and wounding dozens, police saidon Saturday, a reminder of the security challenges despiterising economic growth.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack and an armyspokesman said security forces are looking into a potentialmotive for the attack, including the possible involvement ofcommunist rebels who are active in the area.

"Three people were killed on the spot from the blast," saidarmy spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Leo Bongosia, adding threeothers including a local politician died in hospitals. "We wereshocked. We don't have this kind of attack in years."

Most of the blast victims were attending a medicalconvention organised by a local pharmaceutical company, werepartying in a popular night club in Cagayan de Oro City when animprovised bomb exploded, Bongosia said.

The Philippines has registered the fastest economic growthin Asia in the first quarter, outpacing China. But long-runninginsurgencies from Maoist rebels and Islamist militants, withties to al Qaeda, remain in resource-rich areas outside Manila.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.