(News.com.au) - POLICE today foiled a bomb attack in the southern Philippine city of Tacurong, disarming three home-made bombs found at a public square.
City police chief Superintendent Teng Tocao said civilians alerted police to an abandoned package outside a shop.
Experts recovered three home-made bombs fashioned from mortar shells, Supt. Tocao said.
"It would have hurt many people and caused major damage,'' he said.
He declined to name suspects when asked.
Islamic militants have targeted Tacurong with four bombings over the past year.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been waging a separatist rebellion since 1978, is known to operate in the area, as does Abu Sayyaf, an al-Qaeda linked group blamed for the country's worst terrorist attacks.