Twin explosions kill at least ten people, wound soldiers in Philippines

Twin explosions killed at least ten people and wounded dozens ofsoldiers in a town on a restive island in the southern Philippines on Monday.

One blast took place around noon and another followed about an hour later in Jolo, the main town on Jolo island, a militarised stonghold of the Abu Sayyaf, a militant group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

An initial military report said one of the blasts was cased by a homemade bomb on a motorcycle, said an army source, who could not be named because he was not authorised to speak to media.

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Regional military spokesman Capt. Rex Payot and police said the blast damaged a food store, a computer shop and two army trucks at noon in Jolo town in Sulu province. An initial report said the first bomb was attached to a parked motorcycle.

The military has been waging a months-long offensive against the Abu Sayyaf, a small but violent group aligned with the Islamic State group and blacklisted by the United States and the Philippines for past bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings.

The number of its armed fighters have dwindled to a few hundreds in recent years due to battle setbacks and surrenders, including a key commander, Abduljihad Susukan, who gave up to authorities two weeks ago after being wounded in battle.

Susukan has been blamed for kidnappings and beheadings of hostages, including foreign tourists, and surrenders through a Muslim rebel chief, which has signed a peace deal and was cooperating with the government. He is now in police custody and faces multiple murder charges.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

(with inputs from agencies)