(UPDATE) Blast rocks city mayor's house in Basilan

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Xinhua) - An improvised bomb exploded predawn today outside the residential house of the mayor of Isabela, sending residents to panic, local military said.

Colonel Carlito Galvez, commander of the Basilan-based 104th Army Brigade, said the improvised explosive device (IED) was planted outside the concrete fence of Mayor Cherry Santos-Akbar's home along the highway at Village Sunrise and exploded at about 2: 00 a.m.

Galvez said that the powerful blast ripped the heavy concrete fence and left a shallow crater, fortunately, by now no one has been reportedly injured in the blast, which alerted the mayor and her family members while shocking residents nearby.

Investigator reported that the blast site was barely meters away from a police checkpoint, he added.

Local police and military authorities disclosed that another IED was recovered a few meters away from the mayor's house. It was safely defused by the police and military explosive disposal personnel.

Police said no one has claimed responsibility for the attack but they suspected the bomb attack could be the work of the Abu Sayyaf group, a small but most violent Muslim militant group blamed for the spate of deadly bombings in recent years in Basilan and across the country.