Explosives seized in raid after Philippines Congress blast: military
Posted: 21 November 2007 1312 hrs

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MANILA: Security forces seized explosives during raids on buildings allegedly linked to last week's bomb attack at the Philippines House of Representatives that killed a congressman, the military said on Wednesday.

Military and police agents found bomb components in a central Manila house late Tuesday, said Philippine Army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ernesto Torres.

The discovery came hours after the arrest of Hajaron Jamiri, a Muslim politician based in the southern island of Basilan, he said.

A second man was also detained Tuesday but later freed without charge, the military said in an earlier report.

Torres said that following Jamiri's arrest, investigators searched the house of a Manila lawyer and confiscated the bomb components.

The raid on the house and another on a hotel were linked to a wide-ranging investigation into a bomb attack at the House of Representatives on November 13 that killed Wahab Akbar, the congressman for Basilan, and three congressional staff.

The raids followed tip-offs from three other suspects who were arrested on Friday that those behind the attack may have planned a second bombing at Akbar's Manila home, Torres said.

The authorities had initially blamed the bombing on the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic militant group blamed for bombings and kidnappings across the Philippines.

However, the inquiry has since taken a dramatic turn, with the investigation turning to potential political rivalry as the motive behind the attack.


- AFP/so