The Philippines vowed to destroy those behind twin bombings that killed 20 people during a church service in the country's restive south on Sunday (January 27), six days after a referendum on autonomy for the mainly Muslim region returned an overwhelming "yes" vote.
The attack wounded 81 and was one of the deadliest in recent years in a region long plagued by instability. It came amid hope and excitement about the ratification of a devolution plan that aims to bring development, jobs and peace to one of Asia's poorest and most volatile places.
The first explosion went off inside the cathedral on Jolo island, in Sulu province, and was followed by a second blast outside, which was detonated as security forces raced to the scene, officials said.
The Philippine military in mid-2017 encountered its biggest and longest battle since World War Two when an alliance of extremists loyal to ISIS, among them foreigners and children, overran Marawi City in the southern Philippines and tried to establish a caliphate.
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