MANILA, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine military has sent more troops to southern island of Sulu to help in the ongoing campaign aimed at defeating the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group before the end of this year, the military said on Thursday.

    A Marine battalion and a Scout Ranger test mission class recently arrived Sulu to augment more than 7,500 soldiers presently involved in the operation, said Armed Forces chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. However, without elaborating on the number of the newly deployed troops.

    Esperon said the military establishment wants to finish off the Abu Sayyaf before the year ends. "Indeed, we want to finish the operations against the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu as soon as possible," he said.

    The military operations, dubbed Oplan Ultimatum, started as early as Aug. last year, have resulted in the neutralization of a number of Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani and the group's No. 2 man, Jainal Antel Sali, alias Abu Solaiman.

    The Sulu campaign is now targeting Abu Sayyaf commanders Radullan Sahiron and Isnilon Hapilon, and Umar Patek and Dulmatin, operatives of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) who allegedly masterminded the 2002 Bali bombings, said Esperon.

    The Abu Sayyaf and JI have been blamed for the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines, including the bombing of the Superferry 14 off Manila Bay on Feb. 27, 2004, and the bomb attacks in the cities of Makati, Davao, and General Santos on Valentines Day in 2005, which have killed hundreds of people.