2 Dead in Blast at Philippine Congress By <http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=bylL&v1=CARLOS H. CONDE&fdq=19960101&td=sysdate&sort=newest&ac=CARLOS H. CONDE&inline=nyt-per> CARLOS H. CONDE http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/world/asia/14phils.html?ei=5040 <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/world/asia/14phils.html?ei=5040&en=5c61eb 43f06fb5f3&ex=1195621200&partner=MOREOVERNEWS&pagewanted=print> &en=5c61eb43f06fb5f3&ex=1195621200&partner=MOREOVERNEWS&pagewanted=print
MANILA, Nov. 13 An explosion on Tuesday evening in the Philippine House of Representatives killed two people, one of them a lawmaker, and wounded several others. The blast, which occurred around 8:15 p.m. at the south lobby of the main building of the House of Representatives, killed Wahab Akbar, a congressman. Also killed was Marcial Talbo, the driver of Representative Luz Ilagan. Ms. Ilagan was wounded in her right leg and back, and another congressman, Henry Teves, was in critical condition at the hospital, officials said. A total of nine people, some of them congressional staff members, were also hurt in the explosion, according to the police, who have declared a full alert in the capital. The House speaker, José de Venecia Jr., confirmed Mr. Akbars death and called the explosion an act of terrorism. I dont want to be frightened by these terrorists and destabilizers, so I have ordered the sessions to resume tomorrow, Mr. de Venecia said in a phone interview. He said the police were going to sweep the Congress premises the rest of the night for other possible explosives. President <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/a/gloria_macapag al_arroyo/index.html?inline=nyt-per> Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered the countrys police chief, Avelino Razon, to lead the investigation of the blast, her spokesman said. The police said Mr. Akbar might have been the target of an assassination attack. From what we saw, it looks like Congressman Akbar was the target of the attack, Geary Barias, the police chief of the Manila, told local radio reporters. A witness, Sandra Cam, told radio station DZBB that Mr. Akbar was talking on his cellphone and was on his way to his sport utility vehicle when the explosion occurred. Cris Puno, a spokesman for Mr. Akbar, told reporters that the attack was directed at the congressman and may have been planned by his political rivals. Mr. Akbar and his family have for decades ruled Basilan, an island in the south notorious for being a sanctuary of the <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/abu_say yaf/index.html?inline=nyt-org> Abu Sayyaf terrorist group. His first wife is the current governor while another wife is the mayor of Isabela, the provincial capital. Mr. Akbar, a Muslim, was a former governor of the province and was an important figure in the American-supported campaign to stamp out the Abu Sayyaf in his province. The police, meanwhile, said that it was a coordinated attack and that the bomb may have been remotely detonated, according to Chief Barias. Were still trying to find out what happened, where the explosion actually took place, he told reporters at the scene. Police officers, emergency workers and firefighters were still arriving on the scene around 8:30 p.m. The explosion set off a fire in the south wing of the building, ABS-CBN television reported. The network broadcast images of damage to the lobby ceiling. A member of Ms. Ilagans staff said the blast, which took place a few minutes after the session on Tuesday evening, damaged the congresswomans van as well as Mr. Akbars vehicle. The police said that they did not know what type of explosive, if any, had been used. Mr. de Venecia said he had just left the compound when the explosion took place and immediately rushed back. Representative Joel Villanueva, in an interview with radio station DZBB, said he heard a very loud explosion and saw at least four wounded people. The wounded were taken to the House clinic as well as to a nearby hospital. The explosion at the Congress, the first such incident in its history, came a few weeks after an explosion in a shopping mall killed 11 people and injured dozens of others. The authorities said the blast could have been an accident, although they were not ruling out terrorism. The legislators are deliberating whether to impeach Mrs. Arroyo, who is being accused of corruption and human rights violations. The Philippines is home to several terrorist groups, including the Abu Sayyaf, which is responsible for the worst attacks in the country. Western countries led by the United States have offered millions of dollars in aid and security assistance to help the Philippine government fight Abu Sayyaf and <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/j/jemaah_ islamiyah/index.html?inline=nyt-org> Jemaah Islamiyah, the terrorist network in Indonesia that is accused of having ties to <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaed a/index.html?inline=nyt-org> Al Qaeda. (F)AIR USE NOTICE: All original content and/or articles and graphics in this message are copyrighted, unless specifically noted otherwise. All rights to these copyrighted items are reserved. Articles and graphics have been placed within for educational and discussion purposes only, in compliance with "Fair Use" criteria established in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The principle of "Fair Use" was established as law by Section 107 of The Copyright Act of 1976. "Fair Use" legally eliminates the need to obtain permission or pay royalties for the use of previously copyrighted materials if the purposes of display include "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research." Section 107 establishes four criteria for determining whether the use of a work in any particular case qualifies as a "fair use". A work used does not necessarily have to satisfy all four criteria to qualify as an instance of "fair use". Rather, "fair use" is determined by the overall extent to which the cited work does or does not substantially satisfy the criteria in their totality. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml THIS DOCUMENT MAY CONTAIN COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. COPYING AND DISSEMINATION IS PROHIBITED WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNERS. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
