Bomb kills three in Philippines

Explosive experts examined the scene of the blast

Three people have been killed after a bomb exploded at a bus station in the southern Philippines.

A five-year-old boy was among the dead and at least 15 other people were hurt in the blast, in the city of Cotabato.

Local police told reporters it was unlikely the explosion was related to the country's mid-term elections, held earlier this week.

Cotabato is on Mindanao island, where Islamist militants have been fighting the largely Catholic government.

Police chief Jomar Yap told the Associated Press that an improvised explosive device was left in a cluster of stalls at the station.

"Witnesses heard a loud explosion from one of the stores," he said.

"Troops are now in the area. The entire city was placed on high alert."

President Gloria Arroyo's spokesman said a full investigation had been ordered.

"We condemn in the strongest terms this attack on innocent civilians," Ignacio Bunye said.

The country's mid-term elections earlier this week were marred by outbreaks of violence.

More than 100 people were killed in the three-month election campaign period, and observers predicted the long vote-count would lead to more violence.

But police told reporters the explosion was likely to be related to Islamist violence or local extortion, rather than the elections.