(Adds details, different estimates of death toll) MANILA, Oct 10 (Reuters) - At least six people were killed and more than 40 were wounded in two separate bomb blasts in the southern Philippines on Tuesday, officials said, pointing to the possible involvement of Muslim militants. Federico Dulay, police chief of North Cotabato province, said a homemade bomb, fashioned from a mortar round, killed 12 people and injured dozens when it exploded at around 8 p.m. (1200 GMT) during a festival in Makilala town. "We are not ruling out anything, including a terrorist attack," he told reporters. But Emmanuel Pinol, governor of the province, said six people were killed and 26 wounded when the bomb exploded in a bar in the town. He warned that a third explosion was likely. "These attacks usually come in batches of three incidents," he told local radio. Earlier on Tuesday, a powerful blast ripped through a public market in Tacurong city, around 50 km (30 miles) west of Makilala, wounding four people. Local army commanders said both attacks could have been the handiwork of Muslim militants with links to Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a Southeast Asian militant group that seeks an Islamic superstate in parts of southeast Asia and Australia. Colonel Ruperto Pabustan, army brigade commander in North Cotabato province, said the bombing in Makilala was "a signature JI attack". Police said both bombs were made from mortar rounds and were detonated using a mobile phone. A previous blast in Tacurong in 2002 was also triggered by a phone. Abu Sayyaf, the smallest and most violent of four Muslim rebel groups in the Philippines, has been sheltering members of JI in the south and around 6,000 troops, backed by U.S. advisers, have been trying since Aug 1. to flush them out. Last month, security officials warned Abu Sayyaf could launch bomb attacks in key urban centres in the south in retaliation for more offensives. Fighting between both sides has intensified since the arrest last week of the wife of Dulmatin, an Indonesian militant and JI member, wanted in connection with the 2002 Bali bombings. The woman's arrest confirmed the presence of Dulmatin, who has a $10 million bounty on his head from the United States, fellow Bali suspect Umar Patek, and three other Indonesian militants who were teaching local rebels bomb-making techniques. The Philippines, a largely Catholic country, is fighting communist and Muslim insurgencies, which have killed more than 160,000 people since the late 1960s. Makilala is a Christian dominated town with a small Muslim population. Communist guerrilla group New People's Army (NPA), which has been waging a rebellion since 1969, is active in the area. A spokesman for the country's largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is holding peace talks with Manila, denied any involvement in the attack on Makilala. "Honestly, we have no role in these bombings," said Eid Kabalu.
