Children dead in Philippines bus fire

A bus packed with passengers caught fire today in the southwestern Philippines, killing five people, including three children, police said.

Regional police chief Alejandro Lapinid ruled out terrorism, saying engine trouble apparently triggered the fire off southwestern Palawan province’s Narra town.

Lapinid said before fire engulfed the bus, witnesses saw smoke coming from its engine.

The southern Philippines is a stronghold of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militant group, which claimed responsibility for bombings on Monday that killed seven people and injured at least 123 in Manila and two southern cities.