(UPDATE) One person killed, 17 wounded in Cotabato bomb blast

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Xinhua) - One person was killed and 17 others were wounded in a bomb explosion in North Cotabato Sunday night, police said today.

An improvised explosive device (IED) went off near a public elementary school in Poblacion village, Kabacan town, in Mindanao' s North Cotabato province around 6:50 p.m. local time, according to Senior Supt. Danilo Peralta, provincial police chief.

He said most of the victims were hit by shrapnel and were rushed to a local hospital for treatment. Peralta said the lone fatality was a student who was at the gate of Kabacan Elementary School when the bomb went off.

Peralta told local radio two other improvised bombs were recovered and safely disabled by police and army bomb experts.

The police official said an investigation into the suspects and motive behind the explosion was now underway.