The bodies of slain Abu Sayyaf terrorists Anni and Iting Sailani in Basilan island in the southern Philippines, where the two brothers are killed in clash with Filipino soldiers on Wednesday, June 20, 2007. The two brothers were implicated in many killings of soldiers and policemen in the troubled South, including a Catholic bishop Benjamin de Jesus in 1997 and a news photographer Gene Boyd Lumawag in 2004 in Jolo island. (Caption by the Mindanao Examiner/Photo by Philippines 1st Marine Brigade)BASILAN ISLAND (Mindanao Examiner / 21 Jun) – Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Thursday took DNA samples from the bodies of two slain Abu Sayyaf terrorists in the southern Philippine island of Basilan, the military said.
Soldiers killed brothers Anni and Iting Sailani in a clash on Wednesday in the town of Sumisip. The son of Iting Sailani was also wounded in the clash, but it was unclear whether he is also a member of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
The military said FBI agents took DNA samples to determine whether the bodies really belong to the notorious Sailani brothers, blamed by authorities for the killings of soldiers and policemen in Basilan and Jolo island and also for similar assassinations in Zamboanga City.
The two men were also implicated in the killing in 1997 of a Roman Catholic bishop Benjamin de Jesus and a news photographer Gene Boyd Lumawag in 2004 in Jolo island.
Civilian informants led soldiers to the brothers’ hideout near a river in Baiwas village and clashed with the men. The two brothers, included in the Philippines most wanted terrorists, were arrested in 2002, but had escaped from a police detention in Manila after disguising as Muslim women covered in burqa.
The Filipino government offered six million pesos rewards for the capture of the two brothers dead or alive and were also on the U.S. wanted list.(With a report from Merlyn Manos)
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