Philippines 'bio-terror' fear

Scientists in the Philippines are examining a suspicious substance that was found along with a suspected biological weapons manual in a militant hide-out.

The materials were discovered when security forces raided a building in the southern Philippine city of Cotabato on Sunday.

They were searching for members of Jemaah Islamiah (JI) - a group of militant Muslims in South East Asia thought to have connections with al-Qaeda.

No arrests were made, but up to eight people are thought to have fled before police arrived.

Several canisters of unidentified chemicals were retrieved from the building, along with bomb making materials.

Deputy Chief of Staff, Rodolfo Garcia, said there were residues of what the authorities suspected could be a chemical carrying the tetanus bacteria.

He also said that documents were being examined including one that "details some bio-terror manuals or something to that effect."

The house raided on Sunday is just a few kilometres from a hotel where Taufik Rifqi, believed to be a senior Indonesian JI operative, was arrested on 2 October.

His detention was announced on Saturday just hours before US President George W Bush arrived for a brief visit on Sunday.

Less than a week before Mr Bush's visit, the man suspected of being the top JI figure in the Philippines, Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, was killed in a shootout with police in Cotabato.