AP: Filipino troops still search for terrorist

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By HRVOJE HRANJSKI and JIM GOMEZ | Associated Press – 2 hrs 38 mins ago

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The remains of a top leader of the regional Jemaah Islamiyah terror network have not been found, the Philippine military said Friday, a day after announcing that he had been killed in a U.S.-backed airstrike.

Troops on the ground were still combing the jungle camp that was hit Thursday for the body of Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, said regional military spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang.

Military officials said at least 15 people were killed in the dawn strike on a militant camp on remote southern Jolo Island, including two other high-level leaders. A military spokesman in Manila, Col. Marcelo Burgos, initially reported that Marwan was among them.

Marwan's death would mark a major success in disrupting a militant network blamed for some of the most spectacular bombing attacks in Southeast Asia in recent years. But if the initial report proves incorrect, it would turn a largely successful strike into at least a partial embarrassment for the Philippine military, while burnishing the reputation of the elusive terrorist.

More: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-filipino-troops-still-search-terrorist-032343085.html

The US has a $5 million reward for his capture.

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1. A look at major terror attacks in Southeast Asia

By The Associated Press | Associated Press – 4 hrs ago

A look at major attacks in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia attributed to the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group and their allies from the regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah.

— April 1995: Abu Sayyaf militants raid the mostly Christian town of Ipil in southern Philippines, killing more than 50 people after robbing banks and stores and burning the town center.

— April 2000: Abu Sayyaf gunmen seize 21 people, including Western tourists, from a Malaysian resort and take them to their Philippine stronghold on Jolo Island; most are released in exchange for millions of dollars in ransom reportedly paid by Libya.

— May 2001: Americans and other tourists are snatched from the Dos Palmas resort in the southwestern Philippine province of Palawan, starting a yearlong kidnapping saga that leaves several hostages dead, including Americans Guillermo Sobero and Martin Burnham.

More: http://news.yahoo.com/look-major-terror-attacks-southeast-asia-020936380.html