MANILA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- One of the top leaders of the al Qaeda-linked militant group Abu Sayyaf was killed, along with five others, in a pre-dawn military raid to the rebels' lair in the restless southern Philippines, a military commander said Sunday.
Lt. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, a regional military commander, told reporters that acting on intelligence reports Marines raided a rebel camp in remote Maimbung town of Sulu province at around 7 a. m. Sunday (2300 GMT Saturday).
About 50 Abu Sayyaf rebels, led by Umbra Jumdail alias Dr. Abu and Albader Parad, fought back and heavy fire-fight lasted about one hour, Dolorfino said.
He said three soldiers were wounded in the clash but recovered six rebel bodies, one of which was confirmed by four independent civilian sources as Abu Sayyaf's rising leader Albader Parad.
Major Gen. Juancho Sabban, who heads the military's counter- terrorism unit, said the death of Parad is a "severe blow" to the rebel group and a "major victory" for peace-loving Filipinos.
The Abu Sayyaf, founded in early 1990s, is the most notorious militant group in the Philippines. It is blamed for a series of bombing and kidnapping in the country over the past decade. But after U.S.-backed military assaults killed its top leader Khadaffy Janjalani in 2006, the roughly-400-member group dissolved into small fractions operating loosely in the Sulu archipelago.
There is no clear group leader after Janjalani's death but Albader Parad is among the top ranks. Parad especially established his name after the kidnapping of three workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Sulu last year. The three -- a Filipina, a Swiss and a Italian -- were freed after reportedly large amount of ransom was paid.
The United States government tags the Abu Sayyaf as an international terrorist organization and offers cash awards, including 15,000 U.S. dollars on Para's head, for capture of the group's top leaders.
