According to China's Xinhua news agency, citing the Philippine military and police, the first blast occurred near a grocery store along a busy street in Jolo, the capital of Sulu province, at around noon, followed by the second near a church some 70 meters (230 feet) away an hour later.
Singapore's Straight Times reported, in turn, that the first blast hit a military vehicle parked in front of a local office building in Jolo, leaving five servicemen killed.