Government troops chased a group of Abu Sayyaf militants who killed two government militiamen in the south, seriously wounding a leading militant blamed for deadly attacks and kidnappings, officials said Sunday. About 30 Abu Sayyaf gunmen staged an attack Saturday that killed two militiamen near Sumisip township on Basilan island. Troops later caught up with the attackers and seriously wounded and possibly killed their leader, Abugao Bayali, said Rear Adm. Alex Pama, who heads a counterterrorism force. A military report said Bayali was wanted for deadly attacks last year that killed at least eight people, including village leaders and policemen in Sumisip, where he maintained a stronghold. Bayali was involved in at least three kidnappings for ransom and used homemade bombs in two attacks last month against government troops in Basilan, the report said.
