KIDAPAWAN: A bomb exploded on Sunday in a billiard hall near a crowded town carnival in the southern Philippines, killing two people and wounding 23, the town’s mayor said.

Mayor Joselito Pinol said two men left the bomb, which was apparently concealed in a bag, at the billiard hall late on Sunday in his town of Mlang in North Corabato province. The two men left hurriedly on board a motorcycle before the blast occurred.

Pinol said bomb shrapnel and flying debris hit people in the billiard hall and in a nearby carnival. The blast damaged the billiard hall. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Government troops have been on alert for possible attacks in the region by a Muslim rebel faction opposed to a new peace deal between the government and a larger Muslim insurgent group.

Published in Dawn, November 24th , 2014