8 killed, 7 injured in church blast in southern Philippines

At least eight people were killed and seven others wounded in two improvised bomb explosions at a church in the southwestern Philippines on Sunday, the military said.

The twin explosions happened after an mass at 8:00 a.m. local time at the Jolo Cathedral in Jolo, Sulu. The victims are mostly churchgoers, according to initial reports.

Philippine security forces were investigating the incident. There is a possibility that the death toll may increase, reports said.

The military has yet to officially issue details of the deadly explosions.

The bombings took place days after the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), a new law that paves the way for the creation of a wider autonomous region for Muslim Filipinos in Mindanao.

Jolo rejected the BOL in a plebiscite on Monday but the law was ratified due to a landslide win in other predominantly Muslim provinces, including Lanao del Sur and Magiuindanao.

The Commission on Elections said on Friday that the BOL was "deemed ratified" after getting more than 1.5 million favorable votes.