MANILA - Two people were killed and 24 injured as a bomb rigged on a parked motorcycle exploded Tuesday morning near a shop in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, the military said.

“Two were confirmed dead and 24 wounded in the blast — mostly in critical condition,” said Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo, spokesman for the Philippine Navy. He said the military are still investigating who was responsible for the blast.

Officials said the bomb exploded when a policeman was approaching the suspiciously parked motorcycle. There were two policemen injured in the blast. Another bomb was found unexploded near the blast site.

On Sunday morning, another bomb attack outside a Catholic church in the southern city of Cotabato killed six people and wounded 55 others. The military blamed the attack on rogue members of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Government troops intensified their offensive against some rogue members of the MILF who attacked the Christian communities in the south last August after the government failed to sign a territory agreement with the 11,800-strong Muslim group,

The attacks prompted the government to suspend peace talks with the outfit and launch a massive assault on the rebels.

The fighting has affected more than 600,000 people.

Government officials say they expect peace talks with the group will resume as soon as this month.