Philipines: Police kill three in bomber hunt

Police in the Philippines killed three people including a suspected Muslim militant in a raid today linked to a bomb attack at the country’s Congress.

The blast on Tuesday killed Muslim politician Wahab Akbar and three other people. Police suspect Akbar was targeted because he turned his back on links with al-Qaida.

Today’s shootings came as police were trying to serve an arrest warrant when they were fired on by a suspected militant.

They shot back, killing him and two others, including a woman. Three other men inside the house in the capital surrendered and were detained.

Officers found a number plate and a receipt for a motorbike whose identification numbers matched those of the one used in the bombing.

Akbar joined the Abu Sayyaf militant group in the 1990s when it had just launched a campaign to set up an Islamic state in the southern Philippines.

As the group started attacking Christians, kidnapping and beheading hostages, Akbar quit and supported US-backed military operations against the militants in his Basilan province.

In a speech two months ago, Akbar denied any Abu Sayyaf links, calling the allegation “a lie told a thousand times” by the military, police and his political enemies. But he admitted a meeting with Abu Sayyaf founder Abdurajak Janjalani.