Malaysian terror suspect still hiding in Philippines: report

A Malaysian terror suspect in the U. S. wanted list is still hiding in Philippines' southern province of Sulu, the Philippine military chief said on Sunday.

The Armed Forces chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said that Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan is in Sulu, according to an online report of the GMA news network.

Esperon said there would be no let up in the military's pursuit operations against extremist leaders in the southern Philippines, which have been ongoing for nearly eight months.

Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department put up a 5-million- dollar bounty for the capture of Malaysian citizen Zulkifli, who it said was hiding in the country after having trained local militants.

As an engineer trained in the U.S., Zulkifli allegedly heads the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) terrorist organization, and is a member of Jemaah Islamiyah's central command, the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

The suspect is believed to have conducted bomb-making training for the Abu Sayyaf, a Philippine terrorist group.

Source: Xinhua