(CNN) At least two people were killed in an explosion outside a busy shopping mall in the southern Philippines Monday.

Cotabato City Police spokesman Christopher Lee told CNN there was a suspected "IED explosion" outside the South Seas Mall in Cotabato City on the island of Mindanao.

Another 34 people were injured in the blast, three of whom were in critical condition, local police spokesman Chief Inspector Rowell Zafra said.

Zafra added that a second, smaller improvised explosive device was discovered in the second-floor baggage area of the mall, and was detonated safely by authorities.

A lockdown that was put in place for the city after the bomb exploded has since been lifted, but additional troops have been deployed across Cotabato in a push to increase security.

Read More</s>PNP Cotabato Spokesperson Senior Inspector Roel Zafra says the explosion occured outside the South Seas Mall complex after an unidentified male person dropped a wrapped box

MANILA, Philippines – A deadly explosion rocked a mall in Cotabato City and injured 11 people, some of whom were children, as residents were set to celebrate New Year’s Eve on Monday, December 31.

In a text message to Rappler, Philippine National Police (PNP) Cotabato Spokesperson Senior Inspector Roel Zafra said the explosion occurred at about 1:49 pm along Magallanes St outside the South Seas Mall complex.

Of the 11 injured, 8 were identified as Bai Sandra Ayunan, 16; Kutin Sedik, 65; Hamida Solaiman, 21; Joey Api, 31; Aida Dalandag, 58; Marissa Torres, 49; Tarhata Biruar, 43; and Norlyn Biruar, 4.

Zafra said initial investigations revealed that an unidentified male dropped a wrapped box in the area. Seconds later, reports said the box exploded.

In an initial police report, the PNP said the type of explosive is yet to be determined but that it was dropped in the mall’s baggage area.

Cotabato city police Officer-In-Charge Senior Superintendent Rolly Octavio also said the motive behind the explosion was still being investigated.

Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) and the Explosive Ordnance Division were still processing the area. – Rappler.com</s>DAVAO CITY, Philippines — At least two individuals were killed and 34 others were wounded after an improvised explosive device went off on Monday afternoon in front of South Seas Mall in Cotabato City as holidays shoppers rush for New Year’s celebration.

Cotabato City Police Office Spokesperson PCI Rowell Zafra identified the fatalities as Jonathan Tasic Toriviano, a driver of a Bangsamoro Transition Commission and a resident of Upi in Maguindanao and Mariam Ulama Kali, a resident of Poblacion 2, Cotabato City.

Zafra said police are still conducting an investigation to identify the suspects behind Monday’s New Year’s Eve blast.

“We are still conducting an investigation after the blast to identify the suspect and we are asking the public to stay at home for safety,” Zafra said.

Another IED was also found inside a hair gel container in the 2nd floor of the malls’ baggage counter after an investigation was conducted by the EOD team and the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO), according to Zafra.

He added that the recovered second bomb would be directly subjected for distraction.

The military has earlier claimed that the group could be the ISIS militants, saying the IED bore some signatures of the Daesh-related group.

City Mayor Cynthia Guiani condemned the bombing incident as another terrorist act.

“It is unimaginable how some people can start the New Year with an act of cruelty but no matter how you threaten us, the people of Cotabato City are resilient and we are stronger than how you think we are. We will stand up against terrorism. We will fight against evil,” Guaini said.

For its part, Suara Bangsamoro said the incident was meant to destroy the peace in Cotabato City as the slated BOL plebiscite nears.

“We cannot help but be indignant of the way that peace in Cotabato City has been tested, as people are preparing weeks before the plebiscite for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). a military take-over during plebiscite or election time is the least needed by the people and could change the real wishes of the people,” Jerome Aba said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) MILF chair Al Haj Ebrahim Murad perceived the blast incident as something that could derail the Bangsamoro peace process.

“In the past, similar incidents have been resorted to in order to derail the Bangsamoro peace process. We must forge ahead with the same resolve as before so that we may finally achieve peace,” Murad said in a statement on Monday evening.

Murad said the incident comes as they are preparing for the plebiscite on the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law ( BOL) on January 29.

“We ask the authorities to examine all angles and make the result of the same public. We should not allow any party or group to make premature conclusions or draw insinuations so as to advance their own personal interest or political agenda,” Murad added.

“It is precisely for the absence of security in our homeland that we exert our efforts for the passage of the BOL so that a government can be established that can really protect and promote the peace and security of the place and its peoples,” Murad stressed.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, in a statement on Monday, also urged the authorities to conduct a thorough probe to give justice to the blast victims.

“We urge investigators and all civilians to not be caught up in the chaos surrounding this terrorist act. We cannot afford to be divisive at this moment. Only by melding together can we bring about peace and justice,” Hataman said.

“Evil acts like these will be punished in this world and the next, while all good deeds will be rewarded. Let us remember the good people of Cotabato for the sake of our community,” Hataman said. (davaotoday.com)</s>The bomb was allegedly planted on a motorcycle taxi parked outside the shopping mall in Cotabato City, where people were buying New Year gifts, according to the newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

No terrorist group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. Meanwhile, Mayor Frances Cynthia Sayadi has reportedly labelled the blast a "terrorist act".

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Martial law was initially declared in Mindanao in May 2017 after the conflict broke out between the Philippine security forces and extremists affiliated with the Daesh* terrorist group, including the Maute and Abu Sayyaf jihadist groups.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/IS/ISIL) is a terrorist group banned in Russia.</s>Local media reports that an identified male was seen dropping a box outside the busy South Seas Mall shopping centre in the city, which is located in the Philippines' southern region of Mindanao. A spokesman for the Cotabato Philippine National Police (PNP) service, Senior Inspector Roel Zafra, said the explosion took place at 1.50pm local time on Magnalles Street. The explosion has rocked the city as it prepares for its New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Two people have been pronounced dead, while another 32 injured people were rushed to a variety of hospitals, including the Cotabato Medical Specialist Hospital, Maternity Hospital and Cotabato Medical Center Hospital. Inspector Zafra said initial investigations have revealed that an unidentified male dropped a wrapped box in the area. Local reports state that seconds later, the box exploded. The PNP said the type of explosive is yet to be determined but that it was dropped in the mall’s baggage area.

According to the Philippines News Agency (PNA), police are trying to determine "if the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device or illegal powerful firecrackers that accidentally went off in the area." Police Superintendent Romeo Galgo Jr. told PNA: "We saw several people wounded and being rushed to the hospital. "We are still conducting a post-blast investigation." Cotabato City Police Officer-In-Charge Senior Superintendent Rolly Octavio said the motive behind the explosion was still being investigated.

Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) and the Explosive Ordnance Division are still conducting investigations in the area. Meanwhile, in a Facebook post, Cotabato Mayor Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi called the blast an "act against humanity." The Mayor said: "I strongly condemn the bombing incident that happened in front of South Seas Mall today, a day before the New Year, the took away several innocent lives and injured dozen others," she wrote. "This is not just another terroristic act but an act against humanity.</s>COTABATO, Philippines (AP) — Suspected Muslim militants remotely detonated a bomb near the entrance of a mall in the southern Philippines on Monday as people did last-minute shopping ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations, killing…

COTABATO, Philippines (AP) — Suspected Muslim militants remotely detonated a bomb near the entrance of a mall in the southern Philippines on Monday as people did last-minute shopping ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations, killing at least two and wounding nearly 30, officials said.

The bomb went off near a baggage counter at the entrance of the South Seas mall in Cotabato city, wounding shoppers, vendors and commuters. Authorities recovered another unexploded bomb nearby as government forces imposed a security lockdown in the city, military and police officials said.

Maj. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said by phone that an initial investigation showed the design of the bomb was similar to those used in the past by local Muslim militants who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Government forces launched an offensive against the militants belonging to a group called Daulah Islamiyah last week and at least seven of the militants died in the fighting, Sobejana said.

“This is a part of the retaliation, but the problem is they’re victimizing innocent civilians,” he told reporters.

Supt. Romeo Galgo Jr., the deputy police director of Cotabato, said witnesses saw a man leave a box in a crowded area near the mall’s entrance where vendors and shoppers were milling. The explosion shattered glass panels and scattered debris to the street fronting the mall.

Two of the roughly 30 people hit by the blast died while being brought to a hospital, Sobejana said.

Cotabato Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi condemned the bombing and called on residents to help fight terrorism.

“This is not just another terroristic act but an act against humanity. I cannot fathom how such evil exists in this time of merry making,” she said.

“It is unimaginable how some people can start the new year with an act of cruelty but no matter how you threaten us, the people of Cotabato are resilient. … We will stand up against terrorism,” she told reporters.

The bombing, the latest in a number of attacks blamed on militants in the volatile region, occurred despite on-and-off military assaults against pockets of militant groups operating in the marshlands and hinterlands not far from Cotabato and outlying provinces.

Hundreds of militants aligned with the Islamic State group laid siege in the southern Islamic city of Marawi in May last year, sparking five months of intense fighting and military airstrikes that left more than 1,100 mostly militants dead and displaced hundreds of thousands of villagers.

President Rodrigo Duterte placed the southern third of the country under martial law to deal with the Marawi siege, the worst security crisis he has faced since taking office in mid-2016.

The militants are opposed to a Muslim autonomy deal signed by the biggest Muslim rebel group and the government. There are concerns that radical groups may carry out bombings and other attacks to derail a Jan. 21 regional plebiscite aimed at obtaining public approval of a new law establishing a more powerful Muslim autonomous region in the south.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>COTABATO, Philippines — A Philippine general says at least two people were killed and 21 others wounded when a bomb believed to be detonated remotely by suspected Muslim militants exploded near the entrance of a mall in the country's south.

Maj. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana says the bomb went off Monday near the entrance of the South Seas mall in Cotabato city as people made last-minute preparations ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations. Authorities recovered another unexploded bomb nearby.

Sobejana said by phone that an initial investigation showed the design of the bomb was similar to those used in the past by local Muslim militants who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.</s>Suspected Muslim militants remotely detonated a bomb near the entrance of a mall in the southern Philippines on Monday as people did last-minute shopping ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations, killing at least two and wounding nearly 30, officials said.

The bomb went off near the baggage counter at the entrance of the South Seas mall in Cotabato city, wounding shoppers, vendors and commuters. Authorities recovered another unexploded bomb nearby as government forces imposed a security lockdown in the city, military and police officials said.

Maj. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said by phone that an initial investigation showed the design of the bomb was similar to those used in the past by local Muslim militants who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Government forces launched an offensive against the militants belonging to a group called Daulah Islamiyah last week and at least seven of the militants died in the fighting, Sobejana said.

"This is a part of the retaliation, but the problem is they're victimizing innocent civilians," he told reporters.

Supt. Romeo Galgo Jr., the deputy police director of Cotabato, said witnesses saw a man leave a box in a crowded area near the mall's entrance where vendors and shoppers were milling. The explosion shattered glass panels and scattered debris to the street fronting the mall.

Two of the roughly 30 people hit by the blast died while being brought to a hospital, Sobejana said.

Cotabato Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi condemned the bombing and called on residents to help fight terrorism.

"This is not just another terroristic act but an act against humanity. I cannot fathom how such evil exists in this time of merry making," she said.

"It is unimaginable how some people can start the new year with an act of cruelty but no matter how you threaten us, the people of Cotabato are resilient. ... We will stand up against terrorism," she told reporters.

The bombing, the latest in a number of attacks blamed on militants in the volatile region, occurred despite on-and-off military assaults against pockets of militant groups operating in the marshlands and hinterlands not far from Cotabato and outlying provinces.

Hundreds of militants aligned with the Islamic State group laid siege in the southern Islamic city of Marawi in May last year, sparking five months of intense fighting and military airstrikes that left more than 1,100 mostly militants dead and displaced hundreds of thousands of villagers.

President Rodrigo Duterte placed the southern third of the country under martial law to deal with the Marawi siege, the worst security crisis he has faced since taking office in mid-2016.</s>MANILA (Reuters) - A crude bomb, blamed by security forces on a small pro-Islamic State militant group, killed two people and wounded dozens on Monday in the southern Philippines, an army commander said.

Islamist militants operate in the south of the largely Christian Asian country and some are known to have links with groups abroad, including al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Major General Cirilito Sobejana, an army division commander, told Reuters the bomb bore a “Daesh-inspired signature”, referring to Islamic State by another name.

The bomb went off at the entrance to a shopping mall in the city of Cotabato in the early afternoon. As well as the two people killed, 28 were wounded, he said.

A second bomb was recovered in the same area, he said.

Sobejana said he suspected the blast was retaliation for the killing by government troops of seven members of a small militant group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State.</s>At least two people have died and 21 were wounded in an explosion Monday at a shopping mall in Cotabato city, in Mindanao island, in the southern Philippines.

The explosive was hidden in a box, and detonated at one of the entrances to the Southsea Mall, military sources told Philippines broadcaster.
A bomb explosion outside a busy shopping mall in the city of Cotabato, Philippines, kills 2 people and injures 34 others.