ZAMBOANGA CITY, 6 October 2007 — Two people were killed and at least 32 were injured in two bomb attacks last night in the southern Philippines, military and police officials said.

Maj. Julieto Ando, a regional army spokesman, said one of the dead was identified as 10-year-old Annie Mae Lozada. The name of the other fatality was not immediately available, he said.

Ando said the blasts occurred in the busy business district of Kidapawan City in North Cotabato province at around 7 p.m.

Police said the first bomb exploded close to the Sugni Super Store along Quezon Boulevard at around 7 p.m., and the second, about a minute later, some 100 meters away near other shops and a barbecue stand along the city’s busiest street. Among those injured were students waiting for rides home.

The City Disaster Coordinating Council said initially that 25 were wounded, several with severe leg injuries. Late into the night, the military division commander, Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, said the number of injured rose to 32.

Ferrer said two 60mm mortar bombs were used in the attacks.

Muslim religious leaders immediately condemned the attacks, which shattered the peace ushered in by the holy month of Ramadan.

Investigators were eyeing terrorism and extortion as possible motives for the incident, he said. Col. Pedro Soria, chief of the army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade, said the Alkhobar group of bandits operating in the region had in the past attacked the Weena Bus Line also in Kidapawan City.

“We already have a suspect in custody,” Soria told Agence France-Presse without elaborating further.

Ferrer said that the “suspect now in custody was seen running away from the minibus seconds before it exploded.”

Kidapawan City in the province of Cotabato is a favorite tourist destination near the majestic Mount Apo, the country’s highest peak.

In January two people were injured in a bombing in the city believed to have been the work of Islamic militants.

The attacks came as the military hunts down Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah rebels on the nearby islands of Jolo and Basilan. The bombings also occurred as government peace negotiators hinted Friday that a new round of talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front may take place later this month. (With input by Agencies)