Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

A bomb exploded outside a church in the southern Philippines during Sunday morning Mass, killing five people and wounding 45, an army spokesman said.

Rogue Muslim rebels were suspected of placing the bomb near a food stall outside the church in Cotabato City, said Colonel Jonathan Ponce. The device was detonated when an army truck was passing, he added.