Abu Sayyaf chief dead, Philippine military says

MANILA, Jan 20 (Reuters) The leader of the Philippines' fiercest Muslim militant group and the country's most wanted man is dead, military chief General Hermogenes Esperon said today.

He said US forensic tests on a body found last month on the island of Jolo confirmed it was Khaddafy Janjalani, chief of the Abu Sayyaf, who had a 5 million dollars US bounty on his head.

Tissue from the decomposing body which could not initially be identified was taken to the United States for comparison with samples from Janjalani's brother.

''We hit the jackpot, there was a match in the DNA,'' Esperon told Reuters. ''We are sure it is Janjalani''.

Esperon later told a news conference: ''The armed forces of the Philippines is proud to announce we have neutralised the centre of gravity of terrorism in the Philippines.'' Quoting from a copy of the forensic report, he said: ''FBI laboratories positively matched DNA samples from the suspected remains of Abu Sayyaf group leader Khaddafy Janjalani with the leader's brother, confirming Janjalani's death.'' US embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop said the forensic tests were authoritative. ''It is confirmed the remains are of Khaddafy Janjalani, the tests show it was indeed him,'' he said.

Janjalani, 31, was on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's list of most wanted terrorists after being indicted by a US court for the kidnap and killing of American missionary Martin Burnham in 2002.

Captured militants who led troops to the buried body said Janjalani was mortally wounded in a gunbattle in September.

MILITARY SUCCESSES The test results capped a week of resounding success for the military against the Abu Sayyaf. On Wednesday, the US trained troops claimed they had killed Jainal Antel Sali, alias Abu Sulaiman, one of the top five leaders of the group, in a gunbattle at a jungle camp on Jolo.

Ten militants were killed in another battle on Thursday, while several others have been killed in recent weeks.

About 70 Abu Sayyaf rebels have been killed in gunbattles since August 1, said Esperon, including eight prominent sub-leaders.

Janjalani was said to be trying to take the group back to its Islamic fundamentalist roots. In recent years, Abu Sayyaf has developed links with the regional Jemaah Islamiah, which wants to set up an Islamic state across Southeast Asia.

At least 30 Indonesian members of Jemaah Islamiah, including two men suspected to be involved in the 2002 Bali bombings, are believed to be on Jolo along with about 400 Abu Sayyaf militants.

The Philippine military has about 7,000 men on Jolo and they are receiving training and intelligence from about 100 US special forces officers.

''Our troops would continue hunting down terrorists,'' Esperon told reporters. ''We will clear Sulu (province) of terrorists and we will not allow them to thrive in any part of the Philippines.'' Esperon said the next targets would be the two Indonesian militants wanted for the Bali bombings -- Dulmatin and Umar Patek -- and their protectors, Isnilon Hapilon and one-armed rebel leader Radullan Sahiron.

The group is believed to have been responsible for a string of kidnappings, murders, acts of piracy and bomb blasts in the past 10 years, including the worst attack in the Philippines -- the February 2004 ferry bombing that killed more than 100 people.

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