MANILA - SECURITY forces have foiled a plot by Al-Qaeda-linked militants to set off bombs in Manila and other major Philippine cities with the arrest of an alleged conspirator, the national police chief said on Friday.

Suspected militant Guiamaludin Edsrafil - wanted for multiple murder and attempted murder for his alleged role in bombings in the country's troubled south - was arrested on Tuesday in southern Cotabato city possessing some components for making bombs, police Director General Jesus Verzosa said.

Mr Verzosa said Edsrafil belonged to a terrorist cell of the Special Operations Group of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu denied the front had such a group but acknowledged that the suspected bomber was a follower of guerrilla commander Ameril Umbra Kato, who is wanted by the government for leading attacks on civilian communities in August.

Mr Verzosa said in a statement that government forces 'foiled an elaborate plan by separatist and extremist groups to sow terror in some key cities in the country, including metro Manila.'

Citing military and police intelligence records, Mr Verzosa said Edsrafil was a 'key player' in several bomb attacks on the main southern island of Mindanao since 2005 that killed and wounded dozens of people.

Edsrafil acquired bomb-making skills from Jemaah Islamiah operatives and received funds for bombing missions from the extremist Abu Sayyaf, Mr Verzosa added. Both groups have been linked to Al-Qaeda.

The MILF, which has about 11,000 fighters, has repeatedly denied any links to the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiah and Abu Sayyaf, a smaller but more brutal group blacklisted by Washington as a terrorist group for ransom kidnappings, bombings and beheadings. -- AP