Philippine troops killed a senior Islamic militant wanted by the United States after they raided his safe house in the restive south of the archipelago, officials said on Sunday.Mobin Abdurajak, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf group, was wanted for kidnapping 21 people from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan in 2000. The victims were freed after a ransom was paid. "The neutralization of Abdurajak is part of our campaign to eliminate the Abu Sayyaf terrorists," regional navy chief Rear Admiral Emilio Marayag said.
Navy officers and marines swooped on Abdurajak's hideout in Tawi-Tawi, the southernmost tip of the Philippines, on Saturday night. He was killed in the firefight. The United States had offered $20,000 for the arrest of the militant, a brother-in-law of Abu Sayyaf chief Khadaffy Janjalani who was killed in a clash with the military last year.