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