SECURITY forces are on the hunt for members of an Abu Sayyaf cell in Metro Manila who are allegedly out to bomb malls, hotels and public conveyances, the military said yesterday.

Two of the cell members were arrested Friday by the multi-agency National Counter-Terrorism Action Group in a raid on their alleged safehouse in Maharlika Village in Taguig City.

Sala Kasan Bairulla and his son Albasher yielded an improvised explosive device ready for detonation, a hand grenade, and notes on bomb-making. The improvised explosive resembled those being used by members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front-Special Operations Group and the extortion group Alkhobar.

The suspects are detained at the Taguig City jail.

Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, chief of the AFP public information office, declined to say how many members the terrorist cell has and how long they have been in Metro Manila.

On when the terrorists are supposed to stage the attacks, Torres said: "The (seized) bomb is ready so it is possible that they are just waiting for the most opportune time."

Justice undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor, spokesman of the Anti-Terrorism Council, said the IED was meant for "soft targets" such as the malls, bus stations and other densely populated places in Metro Manila.

In Sulu yesterday, three Marines were injured in a roadside bombing in Patikul town by suspected Abu Sayyaf members.

Elements of the 5th Marine Battalion Landing Team were in an armored truck when the terrorists set off the bomb in Bangkal village at around 10:30 a.m., said Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, Marines commandant.

The bomb was hidden in a pile of garbage on the roadside.

The military recovered a 50 meter-long wire, indicating that the bomb was "command detonated."