MANILA, Dec. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- At least two suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group were killed while two others were arrested in a raid by Marine soldiers early Tuesday inthe southern Philippine city of Zamboanga, the military said.

¡¡¡¡The arrested suspects were Sappi Baladji and Abdurasim Alim, younger brother of slain suspect Hairi, the military said.

    However, Alim's wife reportedly denied her husband was a militant and said he was an ordinary civilian. Hairi is the only slain suspect identified, the military said.

    A cache of weapons and explosives were recovered by the raidinggovernment troops which sustained no casualties in the operation.

    Four other suspected Abu Sayyaf members escaped, said regional military chief Lieutenant General Alberto Braganza.

    Last week security forces killed an Abu Sayyaf terror suspect identified as Bahan Madjar and arrested four people, one of them awoman.

    Madjar was regarded as one of those behind a series of bomb attacks in Zamboanga City that killed dozens of civilians in recent years, as well as a US soldier taking part in anti-terrorism training with Filipino troops in 2002, the military said.

    US troops have been training and giving equipment to Filipino forces to combat the Abu Sayyaf, a small group of Islamic militants tagged as terrorists by the US and Philippine governments for making a number of kidnapping and bombing incidents in recent years.

    The Abu Sayyaf was also blamed for the country's worst terrorist attack in February, when a ferry packed with passengers caught fire on Manila Bay after a bomb explosion, which left over 100 dead. Enditem