Militants killed in raid near Philippines blast site

Three suspects were killed and three arrested Thursday as police raided an Islamic militant hideout near the Philippines legislature, where a congressman was killed in a blast earlier this week, officials said.

Philippine Army spokesman Major Ernesto Torres said without elaborating that "there are indications that they have something to do with the blast."

Military and police swooped on the northern Manila shantytown of Payatas near the House of Representatives to arrest suspected kidnappers and were met with gunfire, said Torres.

Three Abu Sayyaf suspects were killed and three others were arrested while one police officer was wounded, he told reporters.

The raid was launched two days after an explosion killed a legislator and three people at the House of Representatives.

National police chief Avelino Razon said the arrest warrant was for an unrelated kidnapping.

Earlier Thursday, Razon said the "sophisticated" bomb used at the House blast was intended for a pre-selected target.

Preliminary police findings indicate the bomber was experienced and bolstered the police theory that the explosion was aimed specifically for Muslim congressman Wahab Akbar, who was killed in the blast, said Razon.

"The one who made this bomb was pretty experienced. It is sophisticated," he said, citing the way the bomb went off to create a 180-degree blast arc to hit Akbar as he was departing the Congress building.

Manila police chief Geary Barias said that police scientists had determined that the explosive in the bomb was trinitrotoluene or TNT, adding that this means "it could have been dynamite sticks" in the bomb.

He told reporters they also found signs of a detonating cord at the blast site, adding that this had prompted police to order a review of the system for monitoring the sale of TNT and detonating cords.

The explosion late Tuesday ripped through a wing of the House after most congressmen had left. The explosion killed Akbar, two aides and a driver.

Police have recovered a mobile telephone that was apparently used to set off the bomb and nails used as shrapnel. It is believed that the bomb was hidden in a parked motorcycle.

Razon said he doubted the bomb was a terrorist attack aimed a general destruction, saying the bomber could have set it off in a place that would have killed more congressmen.

Police believe the bomb was intended for Akbar, who represents the southern island of Basilan, a haunt of armed groups like the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf and political warlords.

The Abu Sayyaf have been linked by intelligence agencies to the Al-Qaeda terror network and has carried out bombing attacks in the past.

Akbar was a former Abu Sayyaf member who turned against them.

Aside from the Abu Sayyaf, the other suspects in the blast are political enemies of Akbar.

Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Buenaventura Pascual said the last time he saw a similar bomb, hidden in a motorcycle and set off with a mobile phone, was in 2004. That bomb was the work of the Abu Sayyaf.

He said this was not confirmation however the militant group was behind the latest attack.
The Philippine government has offered a five-million-peso (116,100-dollar) reward for information leading to the arrest of the bomber.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia said he was also setting up a task force to look into improving the security in the House.