Deadly Philippines car bomb caught on camera

Footage of the moment a car bomb exploded near a bus terminal in the southern Philippines has been posted online.

The blast, that killed two people and left 53 injured on Friday afternoon in the volatile Mindanao province, was captured by a bystander on their mobile phone, ABS reports.

The video shows a car burning in front of a videoke bar when it explodes, sending out a massive shockwave that hits passing motorists.

Authorities said Zamboanga City had been receiving threats after the military launched a crackdown on the Islamist Abu Sayyaf Group.

The city was placed under red alert after a failed jailbreak involving Abu Sayyaf leader Furuji Indama.

Zamboanga's mayor Beng Climaco said the terrorist group could be behind the blast in a bid to free 57 of their "high value" members from the city's jail.

"We have received notices (from the intelligence community) that they are going to be rescued by their comrades, who are ready to die," she said.

"One of the most urgent concerns that the city of Zamboanga is facing right now is the immediate transfer of these 57 high-value Abu Sayyaf members in our city jail that are posing a threat because of the rescue and have responded through diversionary tactics."

"We want them to be removed out of the city immediately because we don't want to be a magnet and a target of future or present problems that we're having," she said.

Al-Qaeda affiliate Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for a number of terrorist attacks in the Philippines going back more than ten years to 2004 Manila ferry bombing that killed more than 100 people.

Abu Sayyaf is fighting to establish an independent Islamic homeland in the Muslim populated south of the mainly Catholic Philippines.