பிலிப்பைன்ஸ் பாராளுமன்றத்தின் எதிரில் இஸ்லாமிய பயங்கரவாத தாக்குதல்- 3 பேர் பலி

ஒரு முஸ்லீம் பயங்கரவாதி மனம் திருந்தி மக்கள் பிரதிநிதியாக நின்று பிலிப்பைன்ஸ் பாராளுமன்றத்தில் இருப்பதை கண்டித்து அவர் மீது குறி வைத்து இஸ்லாமிய பயங்கரவாத தாக்குதல் நடந்தது. அதில் மூன்று பேர்கள் பலியானார்கள்.

இதில் அந்த முஸ்லீம் பிரதிநிதியும், அவரது கார் ஓட்டுனரும், அவரது உதவியாளரும் கொல்லப்பட்டார்கள்.

வன்முறை மார்க்கத்தில் இருப்பவர்கள் எப்படிப்பட்ட அச்சுருத்தல் இருந்தாலும், அமைதி மார்க்கத்துக்கு வரவேண்டும். ஏராளமானவர்கள் அமைதி மார்க்கத்துக்கு திரும்புவதே வன்முறை மார்க்கத்தை பலவீனப்படுத்தும்.

இந்த முன்னாள் இஸ்லாமிய பயங்கரவாதிக்கும் அவரது உதவியாளர்களுக்கும் என் அஞ்சலி


Bomb kills 3 outside Philippine Congress
By OLIVER TEVES, Associated Press Writer
Tue Nov 13, 3:04 PM ET


MANILA, Philippines - A bomb exploded outside the House of Representatives late Tuesday, killing a former Muslim rebel-turned-congressman who had backed a U.S.-Philippine offensive against Islamic militants. A lawmaker's driver and a legislative staffer also died.


The remotely detonated bomb collapsed the ceiling at the building's entrance, damaged cars and injured seven people, including two congresswomen. Their injuries were not life threatening.

"I felt the blast although I was on the other side of the building," Rep. Teodoro Casino told The Associated Press.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said the target appeared to be Rep. Wahab Akbar, a former rebel who as governor of southern Basilan province gave his support to military operations against al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf guerrillas. Akbar died of wounds in a hospital, police said.

Puno sought to play down the possible involvement of Muslim extremists, however, saying the investigation was "pointing away from terrorist attack and more of a directed assault on a certain individual."

"There were threats on the life of Akbar," Puno told reporters. "The indications are that that was the case both in terms of location of the bomb and the manner it was set off."

While he turned on the Muslim rebels, Akbar also had many political foes, including those who ran against one of his wives who succeeded him as Basilan governor. Political rivalries in the southern Philippines are often accompanied by bloodshed, and assassinations of politicians are common.

Akbar, 47, was a member of the Moro National Liberation Front, a Muslim rebel group that dropped its secessionist goal and signed a peace accord with the government in September 1996.

Some security officials suspected Akbar knew the leaders of Abu Sayyaf, a radical Muslim group that has its roots on Basilan island. But they said he later had a falling out with Abu Sayyaf commanders and started fighting them.

Akbar was Basilan governor when U.S. troops arrived on the island in 1992 to train Filipino soldiers battling Abu Sayyaf. Over the years, the island was gradually transformed from a militant hotbed into a showcase of counterterrorism success and humanitarian development.

The key Abu Sayyaf leaders were killed last year in a clash with Philippine marines on neighboring Jolo island. But some of the group's fighters regrouped and returned to Basilan, where they have joined with other guerrillas to stage sporadic attacks.

At the bombing scene, national police chief Avelino Razon said a destroyed motorcycle was found and experts were conducting chemical tests to determine if it was used to carry the bomb.

Investigators suspected the bomb might have been hidden on one of two parked motorcycles and then remotely detonated as Akbar approached his car, mortally wounding him and ripping the motorcycles apart, the metropolitan Manila police chief, Geary Barias, said.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo urged people not to jump to conclusions about the attack. "We're making a call against rumors, accusations that create confusion, fear and conflict," she said.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia told reporters that whoever was responsible, "I'm sure it was deliberately done to cow us,"

The blast occurred amid heightened political tensions in the country as Arroyo faces a third impeachment attempt in as many years.

"We cannot rule out anything until the investigation is completed," de Venecia said. "There are many threats to us personally and officially. We will have to decide whether we have to augment security."

The capital has been jittery since last month, when an explosion rocked a shopping mall in the financial district, killing 11 people and injuring more than 100. Police blamed an accidental gas leak, although owners of the mall disputed the finding.

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Associated Press writer Jim Gomez contributed to this report.