Philippine bomb suspects 'confess'

Three people have allegedly confessed to taking part in bomb attacks in the southern Philippines last year.

The three suspects are said to have helped bomb an airport and ferry port in Davao, killing 38 people and wounding 100 others.

Security officials said the suspects admitted to being members of the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

At least one of them is also accused of having links with the regional militant group Jemaah Islamiah.

The three suspects - Abdul Menap Mentang, Monawara Usop and Mursid Mubpon - were paraded before the media by security officials on Thursday, though they have not yet been charged.

The two men wore orange prison-issue shirts, while their alleged female accomplice Monawara Usop wore a black dress.

The three were arrested in Manila earlier this month and confessed to involvement in the bombings while under interrogation, military spokesman Lieutenant General Edilberto Adan told the French news agency AFP.

Abdul Menap Mentang reportedly told investigators he had assembled the bombs used in the Davao attacks, and was a member of the MILF, a local Muslim separatist group which has fought a 35-year rebellion in the region.

Mentang also said he was trained by a senior Jemaah Islamiah (JI) leader, an Indonesian named as Zulkifli, who ordered and financed the Davao attacks.

Zulkifli was arrested in Malaysia last year.

The alleged link between the MILF and JI comes despite the MILF's promise to cut all ties with terrorist organisations as part of peace talks with the Philippine government.