A suspected bomber was killed and five other people injured as blasts rocked two cinemas in this southern city on Christmas Eve, police said Monday.
The first explosion went off early evening at the Sultan cinema, injuring two patrons and sparking a city-wide alert, Superintendent Amerudin Hamdag told reporters.
Police ordered other movie houses to frisk all ticket holders.
About 30 minutes after the first blast, one man resisted a body search at the City movie house and ran inside the theater, where explosives strapped to his waist detonated, Hamdag said.
The explosion injured three other moviegoers, he added.
It was unclear whether the two blasts were related and no group has claimed responsibility for either.
The area surrounding Cotabato is a hotbed of Muslim separatist rebellion by the 13,000-member Moro Islamic Liberation Front -- COTABATO, Philippines (AFP)
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