A car bomb has exploded in the southern Philippines, killing at least six people and wounding 26 others in the second attack to hit the island of Mindanao in recent days.
The bomb went off Monday on a major street in Cotabato City as a car carrying city administrator Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi was passing by. She escaped unhurt, but one her of bodyguards in a nearby security van was killed. It was not immediately clear if the local official was the target.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. A previous bombing struck the city of Cagayan de Oro on July 26, killing eight people at a restaurant.
A breakaway Islamist rebel faction has vowed to continue fighting for a separate homeland for minority Muslims in the southern Philippines. The Bangsamoro Islamist Freedom Movement split from the main Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is engaged in peace talks with the Philippine government.
Mindanao also is plagued by armed gangs involved in kidnapping and extortion.
The United States issued an alert last month, warning Americans to avoid travel to southern Philippine regions such as Mindanao. It cited a "high threat of kidnapping of international travelers and violence linked to insurgency and terrorism."
The bomb went off Monday on a major street in Cotabato City as a car carrying city administrator Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi was passing by. She escaped unhurt, but one her of bodyguards in a nearby security van was killed. It was not immediately clear if the local official was the target.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. A previous bombing struck the city of Cagayan de Oro on July 26, killing eight people at a restaurant.
A breakaway Islamist rebel faction has vowed to continue fighting for a separate homeland for minority Muslims in the southern Philippines. The Bangsamoro Islamist Freedom Movement split from the main Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is engaged in peace talks with the Philippine government.
Mindanao also is plagued by armed gangs involved in kidnapping and extortion.
The United States issued an alert last month, warning Americans to avoid travel to southern Philippine regions such as Mindanao. It cited a "high threat of kidnapping of international travelers and violence linked to insurgency and terrorism."