ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Fifteen people, including five soldiers, were killed, while 46 others were wounded in twin bomb explosions early Sunday in a church in Jolo, Sulu, the police said.

Senior Superintendent Pablo Labra II, Sulu police director, said two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) exploded one after the other.

The first explosion happened around 8:15 a.m. Sunday inside the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral, while the second went off a minute later outside the church in Barangay Walled City, Jolo.

Labra said the five slain soldiers belong to the Army’s 35th Infantry Battalion who were detailed to secure the church. The other 10 fatalities were churchgoers.

He said 13 of the 46 wounded are members of the Army’s 35th Infantry Battalion, while 32 were churchgoers, and the other one is a member of the Philippine Coast Guard.

Labra said investigation showed that a woman entered the church and pretended to be a devotee prior to the twin explosions.

He said they are still investigating whether the woman left the church before the first blast. (SunStar Philippines)