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The body of wanted terrorist Abdul Basit Usman. Photo: AFP

Philippines most wanted terrorist 'killed by his own bodyguards who wanted US$1m bounty'

Most wanted Islamist militant Abdul Basit Usman, with strong al-Qaedaties, slain by his followers for US government reward, general claims

The Philippines' most wanted Islamist militant, whose death at the weekend could boost peace efforts in the country's south, was killed by his own bodyguards in pursuit of a bounty offered by the United States, the head of the military said yesterday.

Abdul Basit Usman, a militant with strong al-Qaeda links who was blamed for numerous bomb attacks in the southern Philippines, had been hunted by security forces since 2002.

"There was in-fighting among his group," General Gregorio Pio Catapang told journalists at the main army base in Manila. "Reports reaching this headquarters revealed that Usman and five of his unidentified cohorts were killed in a shoot-out allegedly with fellow members of his group."

Catapang said he had information that Usman's followers had turned on him because of a US$1 million bounty offered by the US State Department, without elaborating.

But his account was contradicted by the country's largest Muslim rebel group - the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) - which said its fighters killed the renegade Usman.

"We can confirm that Usman is dead, and his body was buried in accordance with Muslim tradition," MILF vice-chairman Ghazali Jaafar said.

The MILF's chief peace negotiator, Mohagher Iqbal, said Usman was killed by its forces when he resisted arrest.

In March last year, the Philippines signed a peace deal with the MILF ending about 45 years of conflict that has killed 120,000 people and displaced two million. But the rebels will not lay down weapons until after a final peace deal is reached.

They are waiting for Manila to set up a new Muslim autonomous government in the south, granting wider powers over its economy, politics and social life.

Catapang said Usman was travelling with seven bodyguards towards a rebel camp in Guindulungan town, on the southern island of Mindanao, when a firefight erupted within his group.

"The bodies were discovered by Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels," he said, adding that the army and police units were trying to establish the identities of the slain militants.

The MILF's chief peace negotiator, Mohagher Iqbal, said that Usman was killed by its forces when he resisted arrest.

Usman's group was intercepted by rebel forces near a creek at around 10.30am on Sunday, but chose to shoot it out rather than be taken to the guerrilla's main camp, he said.

Both Catapang and Iqbal said that Usman's death would be a boost to continuing peace efforts.

"Our security operations will continue until we get all the potential spoilers to the peace process," Catapang said, adding there were still 10 foreign Islamist militants and about 100 local renegade Islamist militants in the south.

Security forces had been hunting Usman, accused of repeated bomb attacks in the southern Philippines, since he escaped from a January police raid that killed Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, an alleged bomb maker who was the subject of a US$5-million American government bounty. The January raid also led to the death of 44 police commandoes as rebels fought back, setting peace efforts. The MILF has since then been under pressure to show it is a reliable peace partner.

The US State Department's website describes Usman as "a bomb-making expert with links to the Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf Group terrorist organisations" leading him to be considered a threat to American and Filipino citizens and interests.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Terrorist 'killed by bodyguards'
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