Top Muslim Extremist Believed Dead

Abu Sayyaf Leader Probably Killed In Firefight With Military Troops

(CBS)  In the Philippines, military sources say a top Abu Sayyaf leader linked to scores of kidnappings is believed to have been killed in a firefight with government troops.

Abu Sabaya has been the most visible of the Muslim extremist group's commanders. He would often call up local media with demands and statements taunting the government. The military has said it was hot on his trail after a June 7 rescue attempt left two of the group's last three hostages dead.

Military sources say a marine and special warfare amphibious group off the southern island of Mindanao intercepted a boat with armed men. The troops came under fire and shot back.

The five-minute exchange left three suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels dead and four others captured. However, the sources say Sabaya's body was not immediately recovered.

Troops said they had found Sabaya's trademark sunglasses and backpack at the site of the June 7 clash in the dense jungle of Zamboanga del Norte province on the main southern island of Mindanao. Friday's gun battle occurred nearby, and the military sources speculated the rebels may have been trying to flee the island.

The Abu Sayyaf, with its roots in the region's Muslim separatist movement and reported early support from the al Qaeda terrorist network, had steadily moved toward becoming a bandit gang, thriving on kidnapping-for-ransom and killing captives whose families couldn't afford to pay.

Freed hostages have talked about how Sabaya led a pre-dawn raid on an upscale resort on May 27, 2001, in which a band of the guerrillas snatched 20 hostages without firing a shot. Included were three Americans, missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kansasm and Guillermo Sobero of Corona, California.

Using speedboats purchased with ransoms from another mass abduction a year earlier, the guerrillas transported the hostages across the Sulu Sea to Basilan island.

The military launched a massive search that eventually would lead to an ongoing six-month deployment of 1,000 American troops to provide training and high-tech support to the badly undertrained and underequipped Philippine troops.