TWO explosions rocked Jolo, Sulu and Iligan City yesterday, leaving two dead and at least 30 others injured.

The blasts came just two days after one in front of the Cotabato City cathedral, which left six people dead and at least 55 injured.

The Armed Forces declared a red alert in parts of Mindanao while the PNP placed the entire island under full alert and the rest of the country under heightened alert.

The military said it was determining whether the Abu Sayyaf was behind the Jolo blast.

Troops are pursuing Abu Sayyaf bandits who have been holding Italian Eugenio Vagni, a delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross, since January.

"We are careful not to mention any suspects at the moment because there are several groups in the area," said Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, chief of the AFP public affairs office.

He said that aside from the Abu Sayyaf, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is also operating in those areas.

A rogue MILF commander being hunted by troops is operating in Iligan City.

The Army tagged rogue MILF members in the Iligan City blast based on the type of explosive used.

Lt. Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., Army spokesman, Burgos said the bomb was made from an 81 mm mortar round and similar to the one used in the bombing in front of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cotabato City last Sunday.

The Jolo explosion occurred around 7:50 a.m. in front of the Go Tek Ling hardware along Sanchez street in Jolo, about 100 meters from the Mt. Carmel Church.

The bomb was planted in a parked motorcycle. It went off minutes after civilians reported seeing electrical wires protruding from the motorcycle, said Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo.

Arevalo denied reports quoting him as saying six were killed in the blast. PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa reported six dead but did not give details.

The explosion site was also in front of Caltex gas station, Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, Marines commandant.

Another improvised bomb was found nearby, he said.

The blast killed a Vicky Sia and 17-year-old Hamsirani Hamsi, and injured 24 others.

Brawner said among the 24 injured in the Jolo blast were three policemen who were responding to the tip of the civilians who saw the protruding wires.

The bomb went off as the policemen were approaching the motorcycle.

The Iligan explosion occurred at 10:30 a.m. on Sabayle street, Poblacion, injuring 11 people, including an Army captain and two enlisted personnel.

Police said the bomb was planted in a 1987 model red Mitsubishi Lancer car (DFY 707) parked beside the Exquisite pawnshop fronting a Caltex gasoline station.

Lt. Col. Juvymax Uy, commander of the Army’s 43rd Infantry Battalion, said the bomb went off shortly after a Kennedy jeep, bearing three soldiers parked beside the car.

The soldiers are assigned with the Light Armor Division and were out on errands.

Uy and 104th Brigade commander, Col. Benito de Leon, said investigations are ongoing to identify the perpetrators.

Iligan is a known area of the MILF’s 102nd Base Command of the MILF under Aldulrahman Macapaar alias Commander Bravo.

Bravo is one of three rogue MILF commanders being pursued by government forces since August last year. Bravo’s group attacked Iligan City and several towns in Lanao del Sur in July last year, leaving over 20 troops and civilians dead.

The two others are Ameril Umbra Kato of the 105th base command operating in Maguindanao and Aleem Pangalian of the 103rd base command.

Uy said police are determining the bomb signature.

The military said troops foiled two bombing attempts Saturday in Iligan City and Zamboanga del Sur.

Burgos said troops from the 43rd Infantry Battalion and 33rd Explosive Ordnance Division found a bomb at Transco tower 39 in Mandulog village in Iligan City last Saturday.

The second bomb was found at the Guiwan Terminal in Zamboanga del Sur.

Burgos, on the Cotabato City blast, said initial investigation conducted by the Army and the PNP showed the bomb was "intended for churchgoers with the intention to inflict maximum casualties."

He said it was "detonated prematurely when the perpetrators sighted soldiers from the 38th Infantry Battalion aboard a Lite Ace Van passing through the area."

He said the initial investigation reinforced suspicion that the blast was the handiwork of the MILF’s Special Operations Group "because the bomb used matched the improvised explosive devices recovered at overrun MILF camps last month."

Verzosa, in a command conference convened by President Arroyo in Malacañang, reported that they have recorded a total of six dead and 49 wounded in the blasts.

"Due to these incidents the PNP and the AFP has declared full alert at Mindanao and a heightened alert at the other areas of the country. We have directed our officers in Mindanao to secure vital installations and also to conduct intensified check points," he said.

AFP chief Gen. Victor Ibrado, in same command conference, said the military declared red alert in the areas under the Western Mindanao Command and the Eastern Mindanao Command.

Ibrado said he had instructed the military units in the area to strengthen their check points and ordered the deployment of additional canine units and explosive and ordinance division teams.

Arroyo said she opted to call the command conference "to do swift action to help the victims and their families in the Mindanao bombings, and strategize and plan to contain the seemingly planned pre-state of the nation address noises."

Ibrado and Verzosa said one of the angles being looked at by authorities is the involvement of new "graduates" of the MILF’s Special Operations Group.

"We think that most of these bombings were done as some sort of test missions for all these trainees that graduated form these instructions," he said.

Verzosa said apart from the "test missions" angle, they are also looking at possibilities that the incidents were intended as: diversionary tactic against the on going AFP operations particularly in Maguindanao; for extortion activities especially in the Cotabato area; as retaliation to the transfer of high risk detainees from the Kidapawan provincial jail to Bicutan; and a show of force prior to peace talks which is expected to resume this month.

National security adviser Norberto Gonzales said based on initial reports, the blasts appear to be connected but authorities are still trying to determine the "signature" of the bombs.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said the government is not accusing the MILF of any involvement.

"This is high time, prime time for the MILF leadership to disown and decry the useless, random, and savage violence that’s happening now…There is no argument in that it will be a tangible sign of goodwill if the MILF will condemn in no uncertain terms these incidents and help in the investigations," he said.

The PNP on Monday filed murder and frustrated murder charges against seven of Umbra Kato’s men for two grenade throwing incidents in Sarangani on June 20 during festivities of the 37th founding anniversary of Maasim town.

The attacks left one dead and 31 wounded.

Charged were Jamer Sadavao of Barangay Pananag, Maasim, Sarangani; Basilin Tungan of Barangay Kanalo, also in Maasim; Mohamad Jafar Maguid of Barangay Daliao, Maasim town; Limbo Jusin Pala of Barangay Daliao; one alias Barok; and two unidentified persons. 

Investigation showed Sadavao and company arrived at the Maasim municipal plaza and joined a group of men who were playing cards at the town plaza.

Moments later, Sadavao was seen aboard a red motorcycle and tossed something at the table which later exploded.