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.
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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.
“I cannot fathom how such evil exists in this time of merry making.”
The Mindanao province in the far south of the Philippines – which is situated near the borders of Malaysia and Indonesia – has been the target of multiple terror-related incidents.
In July this year, around 10 people were killed when militants linked to the Abu Sayyaf terror group –located in Mindanao – set off a car bomb at a military checkpoint.