MANILA, Nov 13: Philippines congressman Wahab Akbar was killed in a bomb attack at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, hospital staff and radio reports said.

“Congressman Akbar is gone, he is gone,” one of his staff who took him to hospital said on DZMM radio. The death was confirmed by the hospital.

Local media have reported that Akbar, linked in the past to Al-Qaeda-linked extremists in the southern Philippines, may have been the target of the attack.

Manila police chief Geary Barias said initial investigation showed the bomb was planted on a motorcycle parked near Akbar’s car.

“It looks like the congressman was the target of the attack,” Barias told journalists.Family friend Sandra Cam said the congressman was directly hit by the blast that tore through the South Wing of the complex, also killing a driver and injuring two other lawmakers.

“I am saddened to know that a good friend and a leader in Basilan is among the casualties. Whatever the reasons and motives are, whether he is the target or the intended victim, we would have to leave that to the authorities to investigate,” said Jesus Dureza, a senior presidential aide. “We grieve for him,” he told AFP.

He said Akbar had helped the government in its anti-terrorism campaign against the Abu Sayyaf group on the Basilan Island, where the militants are on the run from a massive military manhunt.

Akbar, 47, had twice served as governor of Basilan, a jungle-clad southern island used by the Abu Sayyaf group as a base from where they launch kidnapping and bombing raids.

He had spoken in the past of links with Abubakar Abdurajak Janjalani, who founded the Abu Sayyaf group initially, to fight for an independent state in the south.—AFP