Arms said bound for RP seized

Arms said bound for RP seized

PHILIPPINES: Philippine police and soldiers seized explosives and
firearms on Friday from a man who said he planned to deliver the
weapons to a buyer in a Muslim neighborhood of the capital
Manila.

The arrest comes amid heightened security ahead of national
elections on May 10 and an investigation into claims, scorned by
the government, that the Abu Sayyaf group of Muslim rebels was
responsible for a deadly fire on a Manila ferry a week ago.

Security forces arrested the 43-year-old mechanic after
raiding his house in a farming town north of the capital and
finding 17 Vietnam War-era Claymore antipersonnel mines, one
kilogram of C4 explosives, grenades, rifles, handguns and
ammunition.

The man was presented to reporters after his arrest and said
he was supposed to deliver the weapons to a buyer called "Khalid"
in a Muslim part of Manila's Quiapo district.

Islamic militants set off a series of bombs in Manila in
December 2000. -- Reuters