COTABATO, Jan 4: At least 10 people were killed and 40 were wounded when a bomb tore through a packed sports hall staging a basketball game on Sunday in the southern Philippines, officials and police said.

The bomb exploded inside the crowded gymnasium in the town of Parang, Maguindanao province and apparently was aimed at killing the town mayor, Vivencio Bataga, police said.

"The mayor was wounded but he is fine. I saw 10 people dead," said town councillor Gaudencio Teves said, adding that 40 others were rushed to different hospitals.

Regional police chief Isnadji Bantala said he has ordered all officers in the town to "secure the place and pursue the suspects" but said no one has claimed responsibility.

"This is something political. Bataga survived similar attacks in the past," he said. Bataga is a former army colonel who is seeking re-election in the May 2004 polls, and police said he survived at least three attempts on his life last year.-AFP