(Update) Bomb blast wounds 3 at bus terminal in Cotabato

COTABATO, Philippines - A powerful bomb exploded in a bus terminal in the southern Philippines on Monday, wounding three men, damaging two buses and sparking panic among commuters, police said. The bombing shortly after nightfall in Cotabato city may have been the work of extortion gangs because the company that owned the buses has been threatened by such groups before, Cotabato police chief Senior Superintendent Willie Dangane said. Hurt in the incident were identified as Leopoldo Cabañog, security guard; Nestor Bayog, driver; and the conductor identified only as Mr. Lawansa. Several of the company's buses have been damaged in previous bomb attacks, he said. Dangane said the bomb, believed to have been set off by a mobile phone, went off on a roadside, damaging a bus that was entering the terminal and another that was parked inside. The blast wounded a guard and a man opening the terminal's gate. The blast, heard three kilometers (two miles) away, sent several commuters running away and started a small fire in a nearby construction supply store that was quickly put out by firefighters, Dangane and witnesses said. It was the third bombing to hit public utility vehicles in the volatile region in recent weeks. Two weeks ago, a bomb exploded in a passenger van and seriously wounded five people in the farming township of Midsayap in nearby North Cotabato province. Another bomb damaged a parked bus but caused no injuries last month, also in Midsayap. Police blamed both attacks on extortion groups. Cotabato, about 880 kilometers (545 miles) south of Manila, is a predominantly Muslim city with a sizable Christian population. Other bomb attacks there have been blamed on al-Qaida-linked militants and other criminals. - AP, with reports from Mark Navales