Two civilians died and 24 others were injured, many of them in critical condition, as a bomb rigged on a parked motorcycle exploded Tuesday morning near a store in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, the military said, according to Xinhua.
"Two were confirmed dead and 24 wounded in the blast -- mostly in critical condition," said Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo, spokesman for the Philippine Navy. He said the military are still investigating who was responsible for the blast.
Officials said the bomb exploded when a policemen was approaching the suspiciously parked motorcycle. There were two policemen injured in the blast. Another bomb was found unexploded near the site of the explosion.
On Sunday morning, another bomb attack occurred outside a Catholic church in the southern city of Cotabato, killing six people and wounded 55 others. The military blamed the attack on rogue members of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front ( MILF).
Government troops intensified their offensive against some rogue members of the 11,800-strong Muslim group, who attacked the Christian communities in the south last August after the government failed to sign a territory agreement with the MILF as scheduled.
The attacks prompted the government to suspend peace talks with the MILF and launch a massive assault on the rebels. The fighting has affected more than 600,000 people.
Government officials say they expect peace talks with the group will resume as soon as this month.