MANILA, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Philippine police arrested a suspected Muslim militant plotting to bomb a crowded shopping mall in Manila's southern suburbs, a police general said on Monday.

Roberto Rosales, police chief in Manila's southern district, said the suspected bomber was arrested after a brief chase outside a popular shopping mall in the Bicutan district on Friday afternoon.

"We recovered an improvised bomb made from a 60mm mortar shell and some plastic explosives," Rosales told reporters, adding the man was suspected to be part of a four-member terrorist cell sent by a Malaysian militant to exploded crude bombs in the capital.

"His superiors even sent him a text message on Friday night, six hours after his arrest, ordering him to explode the bombs on Saturday."

Police intelligence officials said the bomb plot was directed by Zulkipli bin Hir, a Malaysian Islamic militant, wanted by the US state department for attacks in the southern Philippines.

The Philippines is fighting a long-running Muslim insurgency in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic country. The conflict has killed more than 120,000 people and displaced 2 million.

Rosales said the man was noticed acting suspiciously outside the Manila mall. When challenged, he ran and was chased by security guards and some police officers.

"He led us to his hideout at a nearby Muslim village where the bombs were found," Rosales added.

On Friday, a man was killed and about a dozen were wounded when two powerful crude bombs exploded at a bus terminal on the southern island of Mindanao.

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