Abu Sayyaf extremists bomb Philippine bridge

Police say al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf extremists have bombed and destroyed a bridge used by government forces and villagers in the southern Philippines.

National police spokesman Agrimero Cruz says nobody was injured in the powerful explosion that brought down the bridge late Saturday in a village in mountainous Patikul town on Jolo island. The militants have bombed a number of bridges on Jolo to derail military offensives and government responses to terrorist attacks.

Cruz said Sunday that the remote-controlled bomb consisted of an unspecified type of explosives attached to a wrist watch.

U.S.-backed Philippine offensives have weakened the Abu Sayyaf, which is notorious for deadly bombings, kidnappings and beheadings, but the group remains a key security threat.