June 22, 2002, CNN News, Search for Abu Sayyaf leader's body, by Maria Ressa

Abu Sabaya, the notorious leader of al Qaeda-linked guerrilla group Abu Sayyaf, has been confirmed killed during a shoot-out with Philippine special naval forces.

The Philippines military are now searching the seas off the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte to recover the guerrilla leader's body.

Abu Sabaya's body reportedly sank into the sea after he was shot during the clash between his men and the Philippine forces on Friday.

The Abu Sayyaf has terrorized the southern Philippines with dozens of kidnappings that left 18 hostages dead in the past year, but its influence has been has waning following a concerted Philippine effort -- assisted by U.S. Special Forces --to crack down on the group.

The military had been tracking the rebels for several weeks before catching up with the group, who were on a boat, early Friday.

In the ensuing firefight, Abu Sabaya, 39, was shot and killed.

Following confirmation of the guerrilla leader's death, U.S. President George w.Bush praised Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for her fight in the war against terror.

"There was a group of killers named Abu Sayyaf in her country," Bush said at a fund-raiser in Orlando, Florida.

"They kidnapped, they killed. And today their leader met his maker, thanks to one of our coalition partners."

Sabaya was one of five Abu Sayyaf leaders targeted under the U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice program, which has offered a $5 million reward for his arrest or conviction.

His Abu Sayyaf group also is on the U.S. State Department list of terrorist organizations.

He was wanted for the kidnappings and killings of two Americans as well as several Philippine and other nationals.

Earlier in the day, Bush said he appreciated the "leadership" and "strength" of the Philippine president.

"It goes to show that by assembling a vast coalition of freedom-loving countries, that when we work together and are strong and are diligent, we can succeed, and that's what's going to happen," Bush said.

In the Philippines, Arroyo congratulated the military and said Abu Sayyaf rebels were now "like rats hiding in their holes."

"Terrorists will be hunted down relentlessly wherever they are," she said.

Philippine Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes said four other rebels aboard the boat had been taken into custody.

"This successful operation could be attributed to the joint efforts of the soldiers with the participation of the American forces, and of course, with the prayers of everybody," Reyes said.

According to Arroyo, government forces came across the boat at about 4:30 a.m. (4:30 p.m. EDT Thursday) about 1 kilometer off the coast of Sibuco in Zamboanga del Norte.

"The captured Abu Sayyaf members confirmed that one of those who jumped into the sea was Abu Sabaya, who was wearing a black sweatshirt," Arroyo said. "The SWAG team [Special Warfare Group of the Philippine Navy] also confirmed shooting the man in the black sweatshirt."

Sabaya, who was regarded as the group's spokesman, was the head of the Abu Sayyaf faction that kidnapped and held American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham for just more than a year.

Martin Burnham and Philippine nurse Ediborah Yap were killed in a shootout two weeks ago when the Philippine military attempted to rescue the couple.

Burnham's wife, Gracia, survived the operation.

The body of another kidnapped American, Guillermo Sobero, was discovered last year by Philippine troops near the Abu Sayyaf's jungle lair in Basilan province.

A Pentagon official said the U.S. military had been involved in the original mission by assisting in planning and communications and by sharing information with the Philippine military leading to the intercept of the seven Abu Sayyaf members.

U.S. special operations forces have been in the Philippines since February training the Philippine military to fight the Abu Sayyaf group.

Speaking to the international media Friday in Washington, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said other Abu Sayyaf members are still out there and remain a terrorist threat.

"There are other leaders, and there are other members of the group, and terrorism is terrorism," he said.

Since February this year, some 1,300 U.S. troops deployed in the Pacific archipelago have been training and providing logistical support to Philippine forces hunting the Abu Sayyaf.