The bodies of victims (center) lie on the pavement as police and military personnel cordon off the site where an improvised bomb exploded next to a military vehicle in the town of Jolo, Sulu province on the southern island of Mindanao on August 24 (Photo: AFP) Hanoi (VNA) - At least 15 people were killed and 75 others wounded in twinexplosions that rocked the southern Philippine province of Sulu on August 24, accoringto the latest announcement of the local military and police.
MajorGeneral Corleto Vinluan, the commanding general of the military's Western MindanaoCommand based in Zamboanga city, said that the first explosion occurred around11:55 a.m (local time) when a motorcycle bomb went off in front of a grocerystore along a busy street in Jolo, the capital of Sulu province.
Whiletroops were cordoning off the first bomb site, "a suicide bomber attemptedto penetrate the area and blasted himself" at around 1:00 p.m, themilitary said.
Thetwo explosions killed seven soldiers, a policeman, six civilians and a suicidebomber, and wounded 21 soldiers, six policemen and 48 civilians.
MetroJolo was locked down to prevent further casualties and preempt any otheruntoward incident, the military said, adding that combat clearing operationsand investigations are currently being conducted to identify the perpetrators.
Jolo has long been a base for the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, which isresponsible for the series of kidnappings, deadly bombings, ambushes ofsecurity personnel, public beheadings, assassinations, and extortion in theMindanao region.
Twin blasts also hit the Jolo Cathedral on January 27, 2019, which killed 23and injured 95./.
VNA
