The slain scribe has been identified as Daphne Caruana Galizia, 53.

She was driving away from her home in Mosta, a large town in Malta, when the explosion took place.

News of her death was confirmed by the nations's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

Muscat also termed the incident a "barbaric attack" and said that she "was one of my harshest critics, on a political and personal level", while condoling the loss.

While reporting about the Panama Papers, she wrote that "Muscat's wife, the country's energy minister and the government's chief-of-staff had offshore holdings in Panama to receive money from Azerbaijan," the Associated Press reported.

However, the claim was rubbished by both the Prime Minister and his wife Michelle, who denied having any shares.

Galizia, a celebrated columnist and blogger was sued several times for libel over her articles.

Malta's opposition leader Adrian Delia, who sued her once for a series of article she wrote involving him, called it a 'political murder'.

She is survived by her husband and three sons, one of whom, Matthew, won the Pulitzer Prize as part of the team that worked on Panama Papers.

The Panama Papers unmasked the rich and the powerful who had offshore holdings in the islands of Panama.

Image: twitter.com/DavidStellini