A powerful bomb hidden in a lunch box was found Friday inside a Roman Catholic cathedral in a predominantly Muslim southern Philippine city, police and church officials said.
The improvised bomb, made from a 60 mm mortar shell with batteries and a timing device attached, was delivered five days ago by an old woman who left the lunch box for one of the priests at the Cotabato Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral, said the Rev. Jun Gumban.
Local police Chief Superintendent Mipunod Maruhom said the bomb was powerful enough to kill and cause major damage.
It was ready to explode except for one wire that wasn't connected, according to a police bomb expert.
Maruhom said police had no suspects, and didn't know why the church was targeted.
Cotabato, about 880 kilometers (545 miles) south of Manila, is a predominantly Muslim city with a sizable Christian population, and has been a target of bomb attacks blamed on Muslim extremists and criminals.
On Sunday, when the bomb was allegedly planted, fighting broke out between government troops and Muslim guerrillas in nearby Mamasapano town in Maguindanao province, killing six soldiers.
Muslim separatist rebels have been fighting for a separate homeland in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation for decades