| Philippine troops have killed a commander of the Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebel group in an operation on a southern island, a military spokesman said Monday. Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Lucero said Almujahid Susukan was killed last Friday when troops shelled an Abu Sayyaf encampment in Maimbung town on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila. Lucero said the shelling was conducted after villagers tipped off the military about the existence of an Abu Sayyaf lair in the area. Almujahid Susukan was an elder brother of key Abu Sayyaf leader Mujib Susukan, who was killed last year in a clash with government troops on Jolo. |