Abdul Basit Usman, one of the most wanted Islamist terrorist in the Philippines, was reportedly killed by his personal bodyguards for $1 million bounty, according to country's armed forces.
Usman, who was found dead on Sunday in Maguindanao, initially it was being claimed was killed by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Reports then had stated that the wanted terrorist, known popularly as Bomb-maker Usman, was killed in an operation led by MILF's 118th base command in Barangay Muti.
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Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr on Monday said the wanted terrorist was killed by his own bodyguards, who wanted to take the $1 million bounty on his head.
"There was in-fighting among his bodyguards. when he was killed, he had 7 bodyguards -- but these bodyguards were not the most loyal to him," Catapang Jr said.
Catapang said Usman was travelling with the bodyguards towards a rebel camp in Guindulungan town in Maguindano, when the shooting took place. "The bodies were discovered by Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels," he said, adding army and police units were trying to establish the identities of the slain militants.
The wanted Philippines terrorist - Abdul Basit Usman, is said to have had strong al-Qaeda links and had been blamed for several bombings. He was being hunted down from 2002 since the bomb attacks in the southern Philippines, which killed 15 and 44 wounded.
According to CNN, Usman's death is going to be a boon for the ongoing peace efforts between the government and the MILF – ending 45 years of violent conflict that has killed 1,20,000 people and displaced two million in war-torn Mindanao.
