ZAMBOANGA (Philippines), Nov 5: Philippine troops killed five militants from the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group in a series of assaults in the south, the military said on Monday.

Marines swooped on a rebel stronghold near the town of Akbar on Basilan island at dawn Monday, killing a senior member of the group, Marine battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Teodoro said.

“Raiding troops clashed with 10 bandits for 10 minutes, resulting in the death of Commander Abdul Karim Jamjali,” he said.

Jamjali is believed to be a right-hand man of Abu Sabaya, previously one of the core leaders of the Abu Sayyaf, who was killed in a sea battle with troops in 2002.

Sabaya led an Abu Sayyaf unit that launched kidnappings in the western Philippines and neighbouring Malaysia in 2000 and 2001, taking dozens of foreign and local hostages, including three Americans. Two of the Americans were later killed during a rescue attempt.—AFP