Two bomb blasts rocked Mindanao Tuesday, killing at least six persons and wounding more than 40 others, prompting the Philippine National Police (PNP) to put its entire police forces in the region under full alert.

Police units in the Visayas and Luzon were also placed in heighted alert status in order to prevent spillover of terrorist activities from Mindanao.

The bombings came on the heels of the explosion near the Cotabato City Cathedral last Sunday in which six persons died and about 50 persons were injured, some of them seriously.

The first explosion jolted the commercial district of Jolo, the capital of Sulu province, at about 7:50 a.m. Tuesday. Badly hit was the Gotoling Hardware along Sanchez St. in Barangay Poblacion in downtown Jolo.

Six persons were killed in the Jolo explosion while 24 others, including three policemen, were wounded, according to police.

Among the fatalities in the Jolo blast were identified as Vicky Sia and Hamsirami Jamsi.

The second explosion was recorded at 10:30 a.m. outside a pawnshop on Sabayle corner Cabili st. in Iligan City, some 300 meters away from the city port.

The explosion was traced to an improvised explosive device (IED) which was inside a car parked on the street. Initial reports showed three soldiers and eight civilians were wounded in the blast. Reports reaching Army chief, Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit, identified the wounded soldiers as Capt. Edito Ancheta, PFC Patarlas and PFC Ela, all from the Forward Support Battalion of the Light Armor Division.

The car blast explosion occurred immediately after a military van arrived and parked besides the car loaded with the explosive, said Col. Benito de Leon, commander of the Philippine Army’s 104th Brigade Commander.

Both the police and the military are now conducting thorough investigation on the two bombing incidents to determine its perpetrators, De Leon said.

Director General Jesus Versoza, PNP Chief, placed the entire police forces in Mindanao under full alert following the bombings in Cotabato, Jolo and Iligan City.

“I have instructed police units in affected areas to coordinate closely with the local crisis management committees for an organized response to the incidents, including post-blast investigation and identification of suspects responsible for the attacks,” said Verzosa.

“Our immediate concern is to extend assistance to casualties hurt in the incidents, and to prevent the situation from getting out of hand,” he added.