Malta police arrest 10 suspects in murder of blogger

Maltese police on Monday arrested 10 suspects in the murder of blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said, almost two months after her car was blown up while she was driving it.

All of the suspects are Maltese nationals and most have a criminal record, the prime minister said, without providing any further details. The police have 48 hours to question the suspects, arraign them or release them.

Muscat initially announced eight arrests at a press conference, then later said on Twitter that two more had been apprehended.

"Authorities have all areas of interest under control since early this morning and searches are underway," he said.

A section of Lighters Wharf in Marsa was sealed off early on Monday as helicopters circled above. Military and police used sniffer dogs to search.

Caruana Galizia, 53, was murdered on October 16. She ran a popular blog in which she relentlessly highlighted cases of alleged high-level corruption targeting politicians from across party lines. 

Galizia was following leads from the Panama Papers, which were leaked in 2015 and show how the world's rich use offshore firms to hide their wealth. She had also accused senior figures in the government and opposition of corruption and money laundering.

All have denied the accusations and Galizia was hit with 36 libel suits in the nine months preceding her death.

Dutch forensic experts and investigators from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were brought in to help the local police probe the murder, which shocked Malta and drew condemnation from around Europe.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange even offered a $23,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.

Muscat at the time described the slain journalist as "his biggest adversary" but vowed to track down and bring her killers to justice.

Muscat also promised a reward to anyone with information, saying that no expense would be spared in solving the crime.

Caruana Galizia, who regularly lambasted Muscat in her popular blogs, was killed by a bomb, which tore apart her car as she was driving away from her home on this southern Mediterranean island.