Philippine military says wanted bomb maker was killed

The Philippine military chief confirmed Monday that wanted Filipino bomb maker Abdul Basit Usman, who has links to the Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiyah network and is a suspect in deadly bomb attacks in the south, has been killed.

Washington had offered a $1 million award for Usman's capture and prosecution. He was blamed by U.S. and Philippine authorities for deadly bomb attacks and providing bomb-making training to Al-Qaeda-linked fighters in the country's south.

Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang said that infighting among Usman's bodyguards led to a firefight Sunday in southern Maguindanao province, near a designated safe area for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the group that signed a peace deal with the government last year after 17 years of negotiations.

Catapang said Usman and five others were killed in a shootout allegedly with fellow members of his group.

But the circumstances of Usman's death are still unclear.

"What we are confirming is Basit Usman is dead," he told reporters, saying the military has physical evidence, including people who saw Usman's body being buried.

A tussle for the bounty may have fueled the infighting, Catapang said, adding that Usman has become distrustful of his men after a series of clashes with the military.

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

Both Catapang and Iqbal said Usman's death would be a boost to the 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 armed fighters and about 100 local renegade fighters in the south.

Usman escaped a police commando operation in January that killed one of Southeast Asia's most-wanted suspects, Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir or Marwan, also in Maguindanao.

Wire services