COTABATO CITY — Suspected militants linked to Islamic State detonated a homemade bomb outside a shopping mall in the southern city of Cotabato on Monday, leaving two dead and about 32 civilians wounded, days before the holding of plebiscite for a law that will give Muslims full control over an autonomous homeland. Regional military spokesman Captain Arvin Encinas told the INQUIRER that the blast around 2:00 p.m. occurred outside crowded South Seas Shopping Mall where people were busy buying for food in time for new year’s eve. ADVERTISEMENT“We are still investigating the group behind the blast as well the explosive they use,” Encinas said. The head of police in the city, Senior Superintendent Molly Octavio, confirmed the explosion that left two civilians killed and about 32 others injured. The law gives the people in the south control over many local government functions, including taxation and education, and it will allow Muslim Filipinos to incorporate Islamic law into their justice system.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 31, 2018 08:23 UTC