Philippine military officials are closely coordinating with the U.S. embassy in Manila to properly identify the recently unearthed remains of a man, believed to be those of American hostage, Guillermo Sobero, who was executed by the Abu Sayyaf Group in Basilan, southern Philippines, on June 12.

"We are closely coordinating with the U.S. embassy to properly identify the remains. We need Sobero's medical records," said Southern Command acting spokesman, Lt-Col Darwin Guerra.

"We need forensic experts to determine if the remains belong to Sobero, although there is a strong possibility they belong to the American hostage," explained Basilan Army chief, Col Hermogenes Esperon.

"Unless there are a series of forensic tests, we cannot fully believe the remains belong to Sobero," noted Col Fredesvindo Covarrubias.

"But we are definitely sure that the remains are of Sobero. The one who led us to the grave site was his executioner," Zamboanga Today quoted Lt-Col Romeo Labrador as saying.

Former members of the Abu Sayyaf Group led government troops deep inside the forest called Basilan Peak where the skeletal remains were recovered from a shallow grave last Friday. The three militants had surrendered to the military earlier.

Their first mission was to locate Sobero's remains, said Col Esperon, and added that they have been providing the military with a lot of intelligence information about the Abu Sayyaf.

Soldiers also recovered a tattered white shirt with blue stripes and a pair of sandals believed to have been owned by Sobero, and a nylon rope used to tie his hands, the commander of the military's civil relations group said.

"Troops in the area are still searching for other remains, which could have been taken away by wild animals," said Chief Inspector Gerry Bayabos, chief of provincial police operations.