(Recasts with second blast) By Manny Mogato CEBU, Philippines, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Explosions rocked two cities in the southern Philippines on Wednesday, killing six people and injuring dozens, the day before Asian leaders were due to start arriving for a summit in the centre of the archipelago. Police were still investigating the motives behind the blasts, which occured within hours of each other over 400 kilometres (249 miles) south of Cebu, where the Philippines is set to host a meeting of 16 Asian leaders on Jan. 13-15. Western governments had warned that militants could bomb the summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and a wider meeting of Asian leaders on the central island of Cebu or attack cities in the south. A bomb in a public market at around 1000 GMT killed six people and wounded 26 in General Santos city, a trade hub approximately 520 kilometres (323 miles) south of Cebu. "It is premature to blame the attack on any group. We are still investigating," said regional police chief German Doria, adding the crude bomb was left on the side of a road near a crowded lottery outlet in the market. A few hours later another blast rocked Kidapawan City, a provincial capital north of General Santos City. There were no immediate reports of any fatalities but at least two people were injured. "A 14-year old boy was rushed to hospital with a severed hand. We are still trying to determine whether he was a victim or whether he was carrying the explosive," a police spokesman said. NEUTRALISATION The Philippines is battling long-running communist and Muslim insurgencies in the south and Doria said the bombing in General Santos might have been retaliation by local Muslim terror group Abu Sayyaf for the killing of some of its senior members. U.S.-trained Philippine soldiers killed Binang Sali, a senior leader of the Philippines' most dangerous militant group, on Tuesday night near his hideout in a mountain village on remote Jolo island in the southwest."His neutralisation translates to one bomber less that could carry out an attack on any target during the summit," military chief General Hermogenes Esperon said. But a spokesman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group, said the bomb in General Santos could have been planted to sabotage Manila's peace initiative with them. Members of the MILF-government ceasefire panel were meeting in the city when the bomb exploded. A truce between both sides has held despite deadlock in long-running peace talks. Manila, which holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN, had postponed the original summit last month, ostensibly due to a typhoon but days after the Australian, U.S. and British embassies warned terrorists would try to disrupt it. Philippine police said there was no specific threat in the central island of Cebu, guarded by around 13,000 police and soldiers, but put the entire country on high alert. The meeting on the resort island of Cebu will be attended by leaders from Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
