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Philippine military 'kills three wanted militants' | Philippine military 'kills three wanted militants' |
(40 minutes later) | |
The Philippine military says it has killed three senior militants from al-Qaeda-linked groups in a raid in the south of the country. | |
The air raid took place on Thursday in an area known as a militant stronghold. | The air raid took place on Thursday in an area known as a militant stronghold. |
Officials said two Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leaders and one Abu Sayyaf leader were among a total of 15 people killed. | |
Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, or Marwan, who was on the US FBI's most wanted list with a $5m (£3.2m) reward offered for his capture, was reported killed. | |
According to the military, the militants were killed in the town of Parang on Jolo island, Sulu province, in the Mindanao region. | |
Regional military commander Maj Gen Noel Coballes told Agence France Presse news agency that troops on the ground had confirmed the deaths of "Zulkifli bin Abdul Hir, alias Marwan; Mohammad Ali, alias Muawiyah; and Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Pula". | Regional military commander Maj Gen Noel Coballes told Agence France Presse news agency that troops on the ground had confirmed the deaths of "Zulkifli bin Abdul Hir, alias Marwan; Mohammad Ali, alias Muawiyah; and Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Pula". |
Marwan is said to have been behind a series of bomb attacks in the southern Philippines since 2006. | Marwan is said to have been behind a series of bomb attacks in the southern Philippines since 2006. |
According to the FBI, he is "an engineer trained in the US" and has conducted bomb-making activities for militant groups, especially Abu Sayyaf. | |
Muawiyah, also a top JI leader, is said to be a Singaporean national who came to the Philippines after the Bali bombings in 2002. | |
JI has links to al-Qaeda and has a long track record of attacks in Indonesia. It is believed to have been behind the Bali bombings of 2002. | |
Filipino Abu Pula is one of the founding members of Abu Sayyaf, the smallest and most radical of the Islamic separatist groups in the southern Philippines. | |
The islands in the south-west Philippines are known to harbour various militant groups - some of which also operate as kidnap-for-ransom gangs, reports the BBC's Kate McGeown. | |
Just this week, Abu Sayyaf is thought to have kidnapped two European tourists from the area. |