Two killed, 24 hurt in Philippine blast

MANILA, Philippines, July 7 (UPI) -- Two people died and two dozen more were injured when a motorcycle bomb exploded Tuesday near a store in the Philippine province of Sulu, officials said.

Officials said the bomb exploded as a police officer approached the motorcycle, the Manila Bulletin reported. Another bomb was found unexploded near the initial explosion site.

Meanwhile, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo convened a conference in Malacanang following a rash of bombings in Mindanao, which the military and police said they think were "test missions" of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front recruits, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

"The purpose of this command conference (is) to do swift actions to help the victims and families of the Mindanao bombings, and strategize and plan to contain the seemingly planned pre-(state of the nation address) noises," Macapagal-Arroyo told lawmakers.

In the Sulu blast, two police officers were among the injured, officials said.

"Two were confirmed dead and 24 wounded in the blast -- mostly in critical condition," said Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo, a spokesman for the Philippine navy.

Another bomb attack occurred Sunday outside a Catholic church in the southern city of Cotabato, killing six people and wounding 55, the Bulletin reported. Military officials blamed the attack on rogue MILF members.

The military stepped up its offensive against the Muslim group's rogue factions that attacked Christian communities last August after the government failed to sign a territory agreement with MILF.