ZAMBOANGA
CITY -- The death toll in the twin explosions that ripped through a church in
Jolo, Sulu has risen to 17, which included five soldiers dead, while 57 others
were reported wounded, police said Sunday.
Senior
Supt. Pablo Labra II, Sulu police director, said two improvised explosive
devices exploded one after the other at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral
in Barangay Walled City, Jolo.
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| Photos from United Kabalikat Civicom-Jolo chapter |
Labra said the five slain soldiers belonged to the Army’s 35th Infantry Battalion and were detailed to secure the church, while the other 12 fatalities were churchgoers.
Of the
57 wounded, he said 14 are soldiers of the Army’s 35th Infantry Battalion, one
member of the Philippine Coast Guard, and the 42 others are churchgoers.
Based on
investigation, he said a woman was seen to have entered the church and
pretended to be a devotee prior to the twin explosions.
He said
investigation is still ongoing in a bid to unmask the identities of the people
behind the twin bombings.
Meanwhile,
former Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan has condemned the incident, which he called a
"barbaric act".
“We
condemn the barbaric act of certain individuals or group in the cathedral
bombing this morning against the worshippers as they try to sow terror and we
should never give in,” Tan said. (PNA)
