JOLO (AFP) - At least nine people were killed and more than 20 seriously wounded Monday in a bomb blast on the restive Philippine island of Jolo, police and witnesses said.
''As of the moment, we have an initial nine dead on the spot,'' Jolo provincial police chief Ahiron Ajirin told reporters here.
The explosive device was planted on the ground floor of the two-story building along a busy street in downtown Jolo. Those killed were mostly employees working in a cooperative there, he said.
Police set up road blocks around the town and many businesses closed early following the blast.
An AFP reporter in the area said he saw more than 20 people with severe burns taken to Jolo's provincial hospital.
A portion of the building's facade fell to the ground because of the impact of the explosion, the second deadly bomb attack to hit the area this year.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Ajirin said one man had been taken in for questioning, but he would not say if he was a suspect.
Jolo is a known stronghold of the Al-Qaeda-linked Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels. The insurgents on February 18 planted a bomb at a bar outside a Philippine Army camp. One civilian was killed and 20 others were seriously wounded in that attack.
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