Senior Philippines militant killed

MANILA, Philippines, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The chief of the Philippines military said Wednesday in Manila the top leader of a terrorist group had been killed in a gunfight with special forces.

Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said soldiers had killed the leader of the Abu Sayyaf group, Abu Sulaiman in a gun battle on the southwestern island of Jolo Tuesday.

The United States had a $5 million reward posted for Sulaiman's capture for attacks and kidnappings dating back to 2001, Voice of America reported.

Most recently, Sulaiman and his group claimed responsibility for the 2004 bombing of a ferry off Manila Bay that killed more than 100 people. He was also linked to the kidnapping of three Americans and a number of Filipino tourists from Palawan Island in 2001, as well as a bombing in the southern city of Zamboanga that killed a U.S. soldier in 2002.

Abu Sayyaf is thought to have links with both al-Qaida and the regional militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, a BBC correspondent in Manila reported.