At least two people have been killed and four others wounded in a grenade attack on a mosque in the southern Philippines, say local officials.

The attack in Zamboanga city took place in the early hours of Wednesday, just days after deadly twin blasts at a Roman Catholic cathedral in the island of Jolo and a vote backing wider Muslim self-rule in Mindanao, the country's volatile southernmost region.

"A grenade was lobbed inside a mosque killing two persons and wounding another four," regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Besana told AFP news agency of the attack in Zamboanga.

In a statement, President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman, Salvador Panelo, said the attackers are "taunting" the government in its handling of the peace and order situation in Mindanao.

"Terrorism has once again reared its barbaric and ugly head," Panelo said.

A grenade attack on a mosque in the Philippines left two dead and four wounded, days after twin blasts killed 21 people at Jolo cathedral. pic.twitter.com/EGRh6ZT0RZ — Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 30, 2019

The victims were reportedly sleeping inside the mosque at the time of the attack, which drew immediate condemnation from local officials

"There is no redeeming such blasphemous murder. It is the highest form of cowardice and obscenity to attack people who at prayer," said regional leader Mujiv Hataman.

"We call on people of all faiths... to come together to pray for peace."

The Ulama Council of Zamboanga Peninsula condemned what it called a "devilish, irrational and inhumane act" and urged people to be vigilant.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The military called for unity among Mindanao communities and urged the public to refrain from speculation on social media that could spread misinformation.

Regional task force commander Colonel Leonel Nicolas stressed the incident was "not a retaliatory act" for the church bombing three days before.

The country was put on high alert after two explosions during a Sunday church service at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Jolo town, Sulu province, killed at least 21 people and wounded more than 100 others.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group claimed responsibility for the cathedral blast, one of the worst incidents of violence in Philippines' restive south.

President Rodrigo Duterte blamed Abu Sayyaf, a domestic armed group that has pledged allegiance to ISIL and has carried out bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Mindanao, for carrying out the church bombing.

"Nobody, but nobody, could perpetuate that kind of terrorism in that area," he said this week during a visit to the region.

The incidents follow a successful and peaceful January 21 referendum that overwhelmingly approved autonomy for the estimated five million inhabitants of predominantly Muslim parts of Mindanao.

That followed a decades-long separatist struggle that has killed at least 120,000 people.

Muslims are a minority in the predominantly Catholic Philippines and represent about a quarter of the population of the Mindanao region.

Sectarian violence does not happen often there and the autonomy plan, which aims to address chronic poverty, underdevelopment and violence, is largely supported by Filipinos nationwide.</s>Philippine police outside the mosque where a grenade exploded, killing two people in a village in Zamboanga City, southern Philippines.

MANILA A grenade attack on a mosque in the troubled southern Philippines killed two people early yesterday, authorities said, just days after a deadly Catholic cathedral bombing and a vote backing Muslim self-rule in the region.

The blast tore through the building as the victims were sleeping in the predawn darkness on the insurgency-plagued island of Mindanao, which is home to the Philippines' Muslim minority.

Blood-streaked prayer mats and shattered glass could be seen on the floor inside the mosque where heavily armed security forces were standing guard, footage from the scene showed.

The blast came as the Catholic-majority nation was on high alert after a cathedral bombing claimed 21 lives at Sunday mass in an assault claimed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Two people were killed and four others wounded in the mosque attack in Zamboanga City, authorities said, adding they have no indication so far it was retaliation for the cathedral bombing in Jolo.

"We are still looking at it, but we have not found any connection," Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters.

"In the past, when churches were bombed... there were no revenge attacks."

Authorities have not publicly identified any suspects and no one has claimed responsibility for the mosque attack.</s>Police say a grenade was thrown inside the mosque where religious leaders were resting

MANILA, Philippines – A grenade thrown inside a mosque in Zamboanga City killed at least 2 and injured 4 others around 20 minutes past midnight on Wednesday, January 30.

According to the initial police report, an unidentified suspect threw a grenade inside the mosque at Logoy Diutay, Barangay Talon-Talon, in Zamboanga city where Muslim religious leaders were resting.

Two victims were declared dead on arrival. Police identified them as Habil Rex, 46, and Bato Sattal, 47.

Four others were injured and rushed to the Zamboanga City Medical Center, namely:

The mosque bombing comes 3 days after twin blasts hit the Jolo Cathedral, which left at least 21 dead and 111 injured. – Rappler.com</s>Bloodstains and debris seen on the floor after a grenade attack on a mosque in Zamboanga, Philippines, January 30, 2019.

A grenade attack on a mosque in the troubled southern Philippines killed two people early Wednesday, authorities said, just days after a deadly Catholic cathedral bombing and a vote backing Muslim self-rule.

"A grenade was lobbed inside a mosque killing two persons and wounding another four," regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Besana told AFP of the attack in Zamboanga City.

The victims were sleeping inside the mosque at the time of the attack on the insurgency-plagued island of Mindanao, which is home to the Philippines' Muslim minority.

The blast comes as the country was on high alert after a cathedral bombing that killed 21 people at Sunday mass on the remote, Muslim-majority island of Jolo.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the cathedral blast.

Philippine authorities initially said it was not a suicide attack, but on Tuesday President Rodrigo Duterte contradicted them saying one of the bombers had blown himself up outside the cathedral.

Besana told AFP it was too early to say whether the mosque blast was retaliation for the cathedral attack, adding police were hunting for those responsible.

The attacks have interrupted the joy spurred by voters' decisive approval of giving Muslims in the south more control over their own affairs, which sparked hopes of quelling long-time separatist violence.

Rebels and the government in Manila have expressed hope the new so-called Bangsamoro area will finally draw the investment needed to pull the region from the brutal poverty that makes it a hotspot for radical recruitment.

However, hardline factions aligned with IS were not part of the decades-long peace process with the nation's largest separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, that culminated January 21 with the resounding approval of a new Muslim led-region in the south.

Jolo, which is home to hardline Islamist factions, is the only area in the southern Philippines that voted against the Bangsamoro. Its leader came out publicly against the region and even asked the nation's top court to halt the vote.

The grenade attack on Wednesday drew immediate condemnation from authorities.

"There is no redeeming such blasphemous murder. It is the highest form of cowardice and obscenity to attack people who at prayer," said regional leader Mujiv Hataman.

"We call on people of all faiths... to come together to pray for peace."</s>At least two people were killed and four were wounded in a grenade attack early Wednesday at a mosque in Zamboanga in the southern Philippines, local officials said.

Two unidentified men threw a grenade into the Sitio Logoy Diutay mosque in Zamboanga city, located in the Muslim-majority region of southern Philippines, shortly after midnight, according to police.</s>Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Two people were killed and four others were injured Tuesday after a grenade was lobbed into a mosque in the Philippine city of Zamboanga, the second attack against a religious institution in southwestern Mindanao in less than a week.

Around 12 a.m. local time, a grenade was thrown into a Zamboanga City mosque where around 10 religious leaders from Basilan and nearby provinces were sleeping, said Zamboanga police director Thomas Joseph Martir, ABS-CBN News reported.

The two men died due to the severity of their injuries while the two suspects fled on foot, Martir said.

The injured were transported to Zamboanga City Medical Centre and are in stable condition.

The motive and the identity of the suspects are still unknown, Zamboanga police chief superintendent Emmanuel Luis Licup told CNN Philippines.

The grenade blast comes four days after two bombs exploded near a Roman Catholic cathedral on Jolo Island, some 90 miles from Zamboanga, that killed at least 27 people and injured around 90 others.

Islamic State-linked terrorist group Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for the attack.

On Tuesday, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the military to conduct an airstrike against the group.

"Our all-out war against the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf is continuous. The order from the president is to pulverize the Abu Sayyaf," Western Mindanao Command Col. Gerry Besana said, ABS-CBN News reported.

However, there is not enough evidence to speculate that the two attacks are connected, said Licup.

A pin from a grenade was discovered at the scene, Philstar Global reported.

Since the attack Zamboanga police have been on high alert and a task force has set up checkpoint throughout the city, Manila Bulletin reported.</s>Two people are dead after a grenade attack on a mosque in the southern Philippines Wednesday, the second deadly attack on a religious site in the region after a landmark referendum approving an autonomous Muslim region.

Police say four other people were killed in the early morning bombing in Zamboanga City, which was denounced as "inhumane" by the local Ulama Council.

Authorities say they do not believe it was in retaliation for Sunday's twin bombings of a Catholic cathedral on Jolo island that left 21 people dead. The Islamic State terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the Jolo attack, but local authorities believe it was carried out by the militant Abu Sayyaf group. The group, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, has carried out hundreds of bombing attacks, kidnappings and beheadings in the region for decades.

The successful January 21 referendum grants the Muslim-dominated southern Philippines autonomy in the predominantly Catholic nation. The referendum establishing the new Bangsomora region was the result of negotiations between the government and Muslim separatists who have carried out a bloody decades-long rebellion.

The referendum was rejected by voters in Sulu province, which is home to Abu Sayyaf and other hardline Islamic factions; despite the rejection, Sulu will still be part of the new entity.</s>A grenade attack on a mosque in the southern Philippines early Wednesday killed two people and wounded four others just days after a deadly church bombing, Reuters reports.

The mosque attack occurred shortly after midnight in Zamboanga, a predominantly Christian province in the restive Mindanao region. Zamboanga sits just northeast of the Muslim-majority archipelago where the twin cathedral bombings killed at least 20 people.

Regional task force commander Colonel Leonel Nicolas told Reuters the grenade incident was “not a retaliatory act”. In an effort to halt the spread of misinformation, military officials urged the public not to speculate about the incidents on social media.

The attack came hours after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte addressed the cathedral bombing on TV. He said that the attack on Jolo Island, a militia hotbed, may have been a suicide bombing.

His remarks contradicted what security officials have said, according to Reuters, but were consistent with the account provided by the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the attack. If confirmed, it would be one of the first known cases of a suicide attack in the Philippines, Reuters reports.

The spate of attacks follows a peaceful January 21 referendum favoring autonomy for the Muslim-majority regions of Mindanao. The a referendum aims to end decades of violence that has left at least 120,000 dead, according to Reuters.

While the region has long been plagued by separatist struggles, sectarian violence there is rare, Reuters reports.

The autonomy plan, which aims to address chronic underdevelopment, enjoys nationwide support.

The Ulama Council of Zamboanga Peninsula condemned Wednesday’s attack as a “devilish, irrational and inhumane act.”</s>ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) - Authorities say a grenade was thrown into a mosque in the southern Philippines where Muslim teachers were sleeping, killing two and injuring four.

Regional police Chief Superintendent Emmanuel Luis D. Licup said investigators are trying to determine the motive and identity of the suspect in the attack early Wednesday at the mosque in Zamboanga city. The victims were from Basilan and nearby provinces at the mosque to teach Islam to children.

It was the second explosion at a religious site in the southern Philippines this week, though military Col. Leonel M. Nicolas emphasized the grenade blast was not retaliation for the bombings of a Catholic cathedral in Jolo on Sunday. He said the grenade attack was still under investigation.

The official toll for Sunday's attack was raised to 21 dead.

In this photo provided by WESMINCOM Armed Forces of the Philippines, a police investigator examines the scene of a grenade attack of a Muslim mosque in Zamboanga city in southern Philippines early Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. The attack came after suspected militants exploded two bombs at a Roman Catholic Cathedral in southern Jolo, Sulu province, during a Sunday Mass. (WESMINCOM Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP)

In this photo provided by WESMINCOM Armed Forces of the Philippines, blood-stained clothes and prayer mats are seen inside a Muslim Mosque following a grenade attack in Zamboanga city, southern Philippines, early Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. The attack came after suspected militants exploded two bombs at a Roman Catholic Cathedral in southern Jolo, Sulu province, during a Sunday Mass. (WESMINCOM Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP)</s>ZAMBOANGA, Philippines – Authorities say a grenade was thrown into a mosque in the southern Philippines where Muslim teachers were sleeping, killing two and injuring four.

Regional police Chief Superintendent Emmanuel Luis D. Licup said investigators are trying to determine the motive and identity of the suspect in the attack early Wednesday at the mosque in Zamboanga city. The victims were from Basilan and nearby provinces at the mosque to teach Islam to children.

READ MORE: At least 20 killed, 111 wounded after 2 bombs explode at Philippines cathedral

It was the second explosion at a religious site in the southern Philippines this week, though military Col. Leonel M. Nicolas emphasized the grenade blast was not retaliation for the bombings of a Catholic cathedral in Jolo on Sunday. He said the grenade attack was still under investigation.

The official toll for Sunday’s attack was raised to 21 dead.
A grenade is lobbed in a Zamboanga mosque in the Philippines, killing two people and injuring four others. No group has claimed responsibility.