Manila - Philippine troops have recovered a "motorcycle bomb" in a southern province after suspected Muslim militants abandoned the bike due to a flat tire, a regional military spokesman said Wednesday.

Major Armand Rico said army soldiers set up checkpoints in two villages in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, after receiving intelligence reports about an abandoned motorcycle packed with explosives on Tuesday.

"The motorcycle was on its way to Davao (City) when it experienced a flat tire along the village of Saniag," he said. "The suspected terrorists later abandoned the motorcycle bomb."

"The improvised explosive device was composed of TNT placed inside the air cleaner of the motorcycle, connected to a cell phone that served as a triggering device," he added.

Rico said the bomb was allegedly "assembled in nearby Mamasapano by a terrorist cell under a certain Abdullah, who is affiliated with the JI," referring to the al-Qaeda-linked regional Jemaah Islamiyah group.

Security in Davao City, a major metropolis in the southern region of Mindanao, has been stepped up following the recovery of the bomb. The city has been the target of terrorist attacks in the past, including a bombing on its airport in March 2003 that killed 21.

The JI has been blamed for some of the worst terrorist attacks in South-East Asia, including the nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia in 2002, which killed 202 people, mostly Australian tourists.

Two militants who played key roles in that attack and dozens of other JI operatives are believed to be hiding in various parts of Mindanao, where they have allegedly tied up with local Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels. (dpa)