Cotabato City, Philippines - Philippine troops on Wednesday recovered a homemade bomb planted by suspected Muslim separatist rebels under a bridge in a southern village, an army spokesman said.

Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando said the bomb was found under the bridge in Labu-Labu village in Shariff Aguak town, Maguindanao province, 960 kilometres south of Manila.

The bomb, made from a an 81-millimetre mortar shell, was safely defused two hours after it was recovered, Ando said.

He said Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels were suspected to be behind the bombing attempt following airstrikes on guerrilla positions on Tuesday.

"We believe it is part of the rebels' diversionary tactic because they suffered as many as 10 fatalities in our airstrikes," he said.

The homemade bomb was found as soldiers arrested a suspected bomber in Esperanza town in nearby Sultan Kudarat province, army commander Colonel Marlou Salazar said.

The suspect, Dali Pamanay, allegedly worked with Islamic militant Basit Usman, a wanted bomb expert linked to the regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Salazar said Pamanay did not resist arrest when troops surrounded his hideout in the village of Saliao.

The MILF is the largest Muslim separatist rebel group in the southern region of Mindanao.

Peace talks between the MILF and the Philippine government were suspended in August when the rebels launched a series of deadly attacks that killed more than 200 people.

The hostilities erupted after the Supreme Court stopped the signing of a key agreement between the two sides that would have expanded an autonomous Muslim region in Mindanao. (dpa)