Two killed in southern Philippines church blast

Manila: Two people were killed while three others were wounded in a grenade attack on a church in the southern Philippines, police said Thursday.

Church goers at the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, in the farming town of Pikit, were in the middle of a prayer service early Wednesday evening when the explosion occurred, police said.

A nurse, 54, and a teacher, 39, died from shrapnel injuries, municipal police chief Senior Inspector Mautin Pangandigan said.

The grenade exploded close to where the two women were seated at the back, Pangandigan said.

Two businessmen and a teacher were wounded and were brought to the hospital for treatment, he said.

Police have yet to determine the motive for the attack, Senior Superintendent Aldrin Gonzales, regional police spokesman told AFP.

Pikit, in North Cotabato province, is a known hotbed of criminal gangs and Muslim insurgents.