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Over a dozen people have been killed in two bomb blasts at a Roman Catholic cathedral on the southern Philippine island of Jolo, where the Abu Sayyaf group and other armed fighters are active.

Yesterday’s incident claimed the lives of at least 15 civilians and five soldiers, police said, adding that 77 others were injured.

The number of fatalities was revised after police said earlier that 27 people were killed.

The first bomb went off in or near the cathedral of Jolo, the capital of Sulu province, followed by a second blast outside the compound as government forces were responding to the attack, security officials said.

The initial explosion scattered the wooden pews inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and blasted window glass panels, and the second bomb hurled human remains and debris across a town square fronting the church, witnesses said.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo condemned the “act of terrorism” and vowed that government forces will pursue the perpetrators of the attack.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines will rise to the challenge and crush these godless criminals,” he said.

In a separate statement, the Philippine Army said the explosions were likely caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

“We condemn this dastardly attack on the civilians who were peacefully attending church services,” a statement from the military said.

Photos on social media showed debris and bodies lying on a busy street outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which has been hit by bombs in the past.

Troops in armoured carriers sealed off the main road leading to the church while vehicles were transporting the dead and wounded to the hospital.