COTABATO, Philippines – Two bombings killed two people and wounded eight in the southern Philippines Saturday, the latest in a string of bomb attacks in the region.
A bomb exploded in a house in the city of Tacurong, killing a woman and a child. Police in Tacurong, about 620 miles south of the capital Manila, arrested two men seen leaving a suspicious package, regional army spokesman Maj. Julieto Ando said.
Earlier, a bomb at a bus terminal in Parang, about 60 miles north of Tacurong, injured the mayor and at least seven other people, the military and police said.
The bomb appeared to have been intended for Mayor Vivencio Bataga, a former army colonel known for his tough policies against Muslim separatists in the area. He suffered minor injuries, said Maj. Gen. Generoso Senga, commander of the army's 6th Infantry Division.
Town council member Gaudencio Teves said the bomb was made from an 81 mm mortar shell and affixed to a motorcycle parked near a bench at the terminal.
It went off as Bataga finished inspecting a site near where workers demolished stalls of illegal vendors earlier in the day, Chief Inspector Danilo Bacas said.
Among those injured were a 5-year-old boy, a 54-year-old woman and two army soldiers that served as Bataga's bodyguards.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
It was the second such attack in less than a week in Parang. On Wednesday, a powerful blast killed 16 people and injured 55 in Davao, 100 miles east of Parang. In early March, a bomb killed 22 people and injured more than 100 others at the city's airport.
Police blamed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a Muslim separatist group, for the airport bombing. The rebels have denied involvement.
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