Philippine Troops Kill Rebel Leader

The leader of the Abu Sayyaf gang that held two American missionaries hostage for more than a year was killed early today by Philippine navy SEALs as he tried to escape by boat from Mindanao island, military officials said.

Abu Sabaya, known for his taunting remarks and trademark sunglasses, died in a gunfight on the water after he and six other rebels opened fire on a navy vessel that tried to halt their speedboat, said Col. Juancho Saban, deputy commander of the marines in the southern Philippines.

“He tried to fight off government soldiers at sea and he was peppered with bullets,” Saban said. “We are 100% sure that Sabaya is dead. This is a serious setback for the Abu Sayyaf.”

The Philippine government has made it a high priority to crush the Abu Sayyaf rebels, believed by the U.S. to have links to Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terrorist group.

More than 1,000 U.S. troops have been deployed in the southern Philippines to train Philippine fighters and assist with surveillance and communications. Officials said U.S. troops were not involved in today’s firefight.

In the past, the Philippine military reported on one occasion that Sabaya was wounded and on another that he was ill and needed kidney dialysis. Neither turned out to be true.

Sabaya’s death is perhaps the biggest victory against the group since its original leader, Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani, was killed by police in 1998. Hundreds of Abu Sayyaf rebels continue to operate on three islands in the region.

The brutal Abu Sayyaf gang advocates the formation of an Islamic state in the southern Philippines but supports itself primarily through kidnapping for ransom. It had links to Bin Laden in the mid-1990s, but it is unclear if any connection remains.

In Manila, Defense Secretary Gen. Angelo Reyes said that four rebels were captured during the battle but that he would not confirm that Sabaya was killed until he had seen the body.

Saban said the navy vessel encountered the rebel speedboat at 4:20 a.m. off Mindanao near the town of Sibuco. The SEALs ordered the boat to halt, and the gang members opened fire with automatic weapons.

The SEALs returned fire, sinking the boat and forcing the rebels into the water, Saban said. Sabaya continued firing and was shot dead, he said. Four of the rebels were captured and three were killed, the colonel said, including Sabaya.

Sabaya, one of many Abu Sayyaf commanders, became notorious after the kidnapping of 20 people from a resort on the island of Palawan in May 2001. Among them were missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham of Kansas, and Guillermo Sobero of Corona, Calif.

Soon after the kidnapping, Sabaya announced that he would behead Sobero as a birthday present to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Sobero’s body was found weeks later.

Sabaya appeared to enjoy calling radio stations in the southern Philippines by satellite phone to taunt the president.

After she promised to crush the Abu Sayyaf, he responded in one call: “Old lady Gloria, what was it you said? ‘I will crush you’? Well, here I am. I am not crushed.”

Earlier this month, Philippine commandos tracking the rebels with their hostages found them in the jungle and opened fire. Two of the hostages, Martin Burnham and Philippine nurse Deborah Yap, were killed. Gracia Burnham was shot in the leg but rescued.

At the time, the military said it had recovered Sabaya’s broken sunglasses and his backpack. They predicted it was only a matter of time before they tracked him down.

Maj. Richard Sater, spokesman for U.S. forces in the southern Philippines, welcomed the news that Sabaya was dead.

“I got the report from the Philippine military and it certainly is good news on the U.S.-led fight against terrorism,” Sater said.

He said no U.S. troops were directly involved in the clash but that he could not comment on whether the U.S. assisted in finding or tracking the rebel boat.

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Times staff writer Paddock reported from Sydney, Australia, and special correspondent Jacinto from Zamboanga.