Abu Sayyaf Leader Khadaffi Janjalani Confirmed Dead.

United States forensic experts have confirmed that the corpse recovered in a shallow grave on a southern island was the chieftain of al-Qaeda-linked Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels, the Philippine military chief said Saturday.

Armed force chief General Hermogenes Esperon said the decomposing body found last month on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, was Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffi Janjalani.

Esperon said that the DNA sample of the corpse suspected to be that of the Abu Sayyaf chieftain matched with Janjalani's brother, Hector who is detained at a jail in the Philippine capital.

Janjalani, included in the United States' most wanted list of terrorists, was believed to have died from wounds suffered during an encounter with soldiers in Patikul town on Jolo.

The US has offered 5 million dollars for information that would lead to the arrest and prosecution of Janjalani, who took over the helm of the Abu Sayyaf after his elder brother, Abu Sayyaf founder Abubakar Abdurajak, died in December 1998. (monstersandcritics.com)
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