A bomb exploded late Friday in front of a popular fast-food restaurant on a southern Philippine island that is a stronghold of al-Qaida-linked militants, killing at least two people and wounding eight others, officials said. The homemade bomb may have hit a power line, cutting off eelectricity in the area, military spokeswoman Lt. Stephani Cacho said. A Marine battalion and a bomb squad secured the area in Isabela, the capital of Basilan island, she said. The bomb exploded outside a Jollibee restaurant near Plaza Rizal, a public square frequented by residents in the evening, killing a man and a woman, said Al Rasheed Sakkalahul, Basilan's vice governor. Basilan is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf militant group, which has about 400 members and is on a US list of terrorist organizations for involvement in kidnappings, bombings and beheadings. On Thursday, the group freed Filipino Red Cross worker Mary Jean Lacaba but it continues to hold two other hostages from the Red Cross - Italian Eugenio Vagni and Andreas Notter from Switzerland. Captives' release sought Abu Sayyaf militants have signalled their intention to release their two remaining hostages if their new demands are met, officials disclosed Friday. But Department of Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said in a press conference that authorities have not yet engaged in official negotiations with the Abu Sayyaf after finding their demands “unreasonable.” He told reporters that the military has put “calibrated pressure” on the Abu Sayyaf to allow negotiations to take place for the release of the remaining hostages. He said the local crisis management committee chaired by Sulu Govenor Abdusakur Tan, is exploring “three avenues of negotiation” to secure the release of Vagni and Notter.
