A bomb attack in the southern Philippine city of Isulan has left one person dead and 15 others wounded, after a similar incident five days earlier killed three people and injured more than 30.
The commander of the Army's 6th Infantry Division, Cirilito Sobejana, confirmed to media that an improvised explosive device exploded on Sunday night in front of a department store in the centre of Isulan, capital of Sultan Kudarat province.
The explosion occurred in the same area where another bomb went off on August 28, killing three people and injuring 36 others during the celebrations of a harvest festival.
No armed group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but authorities pointed to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), an ally of the Islamic State (IS), who have already taken responsibility for the August 28 bombing.
National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde on Monday condemned the attack and said that the number of security patrols has been increased in the Muslim-majority region of Mindanao, known as Bangsamoro, which has suffered four attacks in a month.
Albayalde also announced the resignation of the provincial director of the National Police in Sultan Kudarat and the police chief of Isulan, for their ineffectiveness in preventing the attacks.
On August 31, a group of armed men which has yet to be identify kidnapped the head of a civilian armed movement and his wife in the town of Sirawi in Bangsamoro, where they also murdered six other people.
A van explosion on July 31 also killed 10 people on Basilan island. The Army blamed IS-allied Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf, which is known for its violent attacks and kidnappings, for the bombing.
The attacks came after the government of Rodrigo Duterte approved in late July the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which extends the autonomy of the area with the aim of establishing peace and putting an end to decades of separatist conflict.
This law was necessary to implement the peace agreement signed in 2014 with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country's largest Muslim rebel group, which will govern the region in exchange for giving up their armed struggle and renouncing its independence aspirations.
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