Philippine blasts kill child, wound 30

kidapawan, philippines -- Twin bomb blasts near a department store in a southern Philippine city on Friday killed a child and injured more than two dozen other people, and authorities said they suspected extortion gangs or terrorism.

Two improvised explosive devices went off about 100 yards apart on the sidewalk in front of the Sugni Super Store in Kidapawan city, police and the military said.

Witnesses said a passenger minibus and a motorcycle taxi were damaged.

Police said they were questioning a man who was seen near the site of the first explosion.

The City Disaster Coordinating Council said a 10-year-old girl buying peanuts from a vendor was killed and at least 30 others were wounded, several with severe leg injuries.

“We are not discounting terrorism, but we are also looking at extortion,” said Col. Pedro Soria, a local military commander.

He said the area is a stronghold of the Al Khobar extortion gang, which is suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda-linked militants hiding in the southern Philippines.

The gang has been blamed for a series of bomb attacks on passenger buses in the south in recent months, reportedly after the companies refused to heed extortion demands.

Police said the first bomb exploded about 7 p.m. and the second about a minute later, near other shops and a barbecue stand along the city’s busiest street.

Those wounded included students waiting for rides home.

Witnesses said people fled in panic after the first blast. Several victims tried to crawl away from the scene, blood trailing from their legs.

Kidapawan is the capital of Cotabato province, about 600 miles southeast of Manila.