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The Philippine military has said troops have found the remains of a man that could be that of Khadaffy Janjalani, the elusive leader of the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf terror group.
The decomposing body was recovered from a shallow grave outside Patikul town on the southern island of Jolo Wednesday, said Marine spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ariel Caculitan.
He said arrested Abu Sayyaf militants led them to the site, although it could not be immediately determined if the body was that of Janjalani, one of Southeast Asia's most wanted terrorists, he said.
“I would like to say that we cannot confirm (that the body is Janjalani's) pending the result of a forensic examination being conducted right now,” Caculitan said, adding that results could take weeks.
Janjalani has been reported killed several times in the past, only to embarrass the government by launching deadly terror attacks.
Caculitan said Janjalani was killed in September as the troops launched a massive manhunt on Jolo involving over 5,000 soldiers. He would not say why the supposed body was only recovered Wednesday.
Troops meanwhile are continuing to hunt down Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants Umar Patek and Dulmatin, who are also believed being protected by Abu Sayyaf militants on the island.
Both men are wanted for the October 2002 night club bombings in Bali, Indonesia in which 202 mostly foreign tourists were killed.
JI and Abu Sayyaf are both on the US government's list of foreign terrorist organizations. Under Janjalani, the Abu Sayyaf launched kidnapping raids targetting American, European and Asian targets earlier in the decade.
Two American hostages, including a missionary, were kidnapped in 2001 and killed in captivity.
