Rebels 'planted Jakarta bomb'

Security is also tighter in the southern Philippines

A splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) - the main separatist group in the southern Philippines - has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's bomb blast in Jakarta.

The explosion killed two people and wounded 20 others, including Philippine ambassador Leonides Caday.

Maybe it's a ruse...it could be a way of deflecting our attention

Philippine Defence Secretary

The leader of the splinter group told the Manila Times that the attack had been designed to draw attention to the largely Muslim island of Mindanao.

But Philippine Defence Secretary Orlando Mercado said the claim could be a trick to throw investigators off the scent.

"Maybe it's a ruse because as of the moment, we have nothing definitive. It could be a way of deflecting our attention," he said.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu also denied the existence of a splinter group, saying this was "black propaganda".

The blast damaged the ambassador's residence

He told a local radio station that MILF targets were limited to "the military and their allies".

Philippine officials said on Wednesday that Mr Caday believed the attack was "personal".

But on Thursday Mr Caday - who is recuperating from two broken legs - issued a statement from his hospital bed denying he knew who the culprits were.

His statement adds further uncertainty as to who was behind the blast.

In Jakarta, Philippine Consul General Narcio Castendra said there were no clear suspects, and no threats had been received.

Caday will take weeks to recover from broken legs

Some Indonesian officials, including President Abdurrahman Wahid, have blamed Muslim separatists in the Philippines.

However, some Philippine officials and Indonesian observers are also raising the possibility that the blast could be linked with unrest in Indonesia.

The Philippine national police chief, General Panfilo Lacson, has told officers to watch out for Indonesian separatists in the country.

Indonesian authorities found an unusually high number of Filipinos had entered Jakarta in the last couple of weeks, Philippine officials said.

Locals laid flowers at the site of the blast

The Philippine Government Deputy Press Secretary, Mike Toledo, said the list of arrivals had been sent to intelligence agents, who would check them against files of terrorists and criminals.

An Indonesian police team was also sent to Manila to establish whether the Jakarta blast was linked to the series of bombings in the Philippines in the last few months.

Mr Toledo said a team of US explosive experts was on its way to Indonesia to help determine what type of bomb was used in the blast.