Bomb blast in S. Philippines kills 2

DAVAO CITY, Philippines - Two people were killed following a bomb explosion in southern Philippines on Thursday, local authorities said.

According to Chief Superintendent Gil Hitosis, regional police chief in Northern Mindanao, a policeman who responded to the incident was also wounded as the improvised explosive went off in an establishment in downtown Cagayan de Oro, a city in Mindanao's Misamis Oriental province.

Hitosis said that initial investigation revealed the bomb, made of yet undetermined materials and placed inside a plastic bag, was left by three people near a bicycle store in front of Maxandria Hotel, Cogon village, before dawn.

Responding policemen inspected the bag but it went off, killing two people and injuring a policeman, the police official said.

The explosion was so powerful that it shattered windows of the hotel's three rooms, he added.

An investigation was now being conducted to determine the identities and motives of the suspects.