Manila, Philippines - Suspected Muslim guerrillas detonated a bomb near a Roman Catholic cathedral in the southern Philippines on Sunday, killing at least four people and wounding 47. Seven were in critical condition.
The bomb exploded outside the Immaculate Conception cathedral in Cotabato city as churchgoers were attending Mass. Two people were killed instantly in the attack and a third died on the way to a hospital, said regional military commander Major General Alfredo Cayton.
The wounded included six soldiers and militiamen in an army van that passed by the cathedral when the device, fashioned from a mortar round, exploded, Cotabato city Mayor Muslimin Sema said. A military spokesman said investigators were trying to determine if the attackers targeted the van.
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A militiaman with gaping head wounds died seven hours later in a hospital, the military said.
The improvised explosive was hidden near a row of food stalls selling roasted pig, Cayton said. A military spokesperson said the bomb was set off remotely by mobile phone, and Sema said police arrested one man seen using a phone during the explosion. He was carrying three identification cards with different names, Sema said.
Cathedral guard Nestor Luna said shrapnel flew in all directions. Luna was wounded in the head, arm and feet.
"I wanted to help the wounded, but I felt dizzy and saw my white uniform soaked in blood. Somebody helped me walk away," Luna told The Associated Press by telephone from the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center.
"Whoever did this should know that they hit so many innocent civilians," he said.
Chief nurse Norma Reyes said at least seven of the wounded were in critical condition and needed surgery.
TV footage showed four wounded soldiers sitting dazed on the sidewalk and a fifth lying unconscious, face down on the seat of the shrapnel-damaged van.
Two bodies lay sprawled near the sidewalk while a stunned woman limped out of a food stall, blood dripping from her foot. Soldiers helped the wounded into ambulances with sirens wailing.
Army troops with assault rifles surrounded the cathedral and cordoned off nearby streets, footage showed.
Cayton immediately blamed the 11 500-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has been targeted by a monthslong military offensive in nearby Maguindanao province and outlying regions.
"Nobody has the motive, the capability and the track record to carry out this terrorist attack except" the group, Cayton told The AP.
Rebel spokesperson Eid Kabalu denied his group was involved and condemned the bombing.
Military spokesperson Lt. Col. Romero Brawner said investigators were trying to determine if the attackers targeted the military van.
"They will hit any place where civilians congregate. They have no regard for life," Brawner said.
A similar bomb went off on a roadside in Datu Piang township in nearby Maguindanao late Saturday, wounding three people in an attack believed to have also been staged by the rebels, Brawner said.
The rebels have waged a decades-long battle for self-rule in the southern Mindanao region, homeland of Muslims in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation.
Malaysian-brokered peace talks between the government and the rebels collapsed last year when a preliminary deal on an expanded Muslim autonomous region fell apart, sparking new deadly clashes that have displaced large numbers of villagers.
Cotabato city, about 545 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila, has been hit previously by deadly bombings blamed on Muslim rebels and extortion gangs.
A bomb exploded at a Cotabato city bus terminal in February, wounding two people. A 2007 bomb blast at another terminal killed a child and wounded 36 people. - Sapa-AP
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