Nine Abu Sayyaf members were killed in separate clashes in Basilan and Sulu, according to the military. Two of them were part of the 40-man militant group that raided the village of Balobo, near Lamitan town in Basilan, and took 36 hostages on August 2. The Abu Sayyaf sub-commander killed in the attack was identified as Anga Adji.

Col Romeo Tolentino, commander of the 104th Infantry Brigade, said fighting took place around 5.45 a.m. in the village of Tiis Kudtong, near Talipao, which is the stronghold of the Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf commander, Ghalib Andang.

The clash began when 20 of Andang's followers crossed an ambush line set up by government troops. The bandits fled when they detected the presence of soldiers in the area. They left behind two M-16 rifles.

Andang used this village as his base after he abducted 21 hostages from a resort in Malaysia in April 2000. Meanwhile, five Abu Sayyaf members were killed in an air strike at Yawas, Kapayawan, Isabela City, Basilan, according to reports from Armed Forces Southern Command headquarters. They were also responsible for the raid at Balobo.

Residents in Yawas also reported seeing seven bandits killed and several others wounded in the encounter in Tuburan, the Basilan Crisis Management Committee said.

The air strike began at 10.15 a.m. on Sunday, a few hours after the military made a pre-dawn rescue of the 13 remaining Balobo hostages. The Air Force has placed on a standby two MG-520 rocket-firing helicopters ready for assault at a moment's notice.

Troops were closing in on Abu Sayyaf kidnappers holding two Americans and 19 Filipinos on southern Basilan island, military officials said yesterday.

Troops have already pinpointed the location of the rebels in Basilan's vast jungle terrain, but could not yet strike in fear of injuring the captives, Col Hermogenes Esperon Jr., commander of the Army's 103rd Infantry Brigade said.

He said troops were closing in on the extremist group in Yawas village because the remaining Balobo rebels are believed to be still in the area. Meanwhile, soldiers killed one Abu Sayyaf member in an encounter in Tuburan, in Basilan on Monday.

At the same time, soldiers are closing in on Abu Sayyaf leader Khadafy Janjalani and his followers on Mount Sampinit, Basilan.

Lt. Gen. Gregorio Camiling Jr., Armed Forces Southern Command chief, said: "The rescue of the hostages on Sunday boosted the morale of our troops, who are prepared to do battle with the Abu Sayyaf, who continue to avoid armed encounters."

Janjalani's group is constantly moving from one place to another between the towns of Tuburan and Sumisip, the military said. Janjalani's band is holding 22 people, including American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham.

Military spokesman Gen. Edilberto Adan said the military is concentrating on the rescue of the hostages, not so much on the arrest of the Abu Sayyaf leaders. He also called for the posting of village guards to protect villages while the military and the police concentrate on scouring the hinterlands in search of the bandits.

The military has no deadline in its campaign to crush the Moro guerrillas. At least seven Abu Sayyaf terrorists surrendered to the military in Sulu, in the southern Philippines, where a government offensive against the terrorist group is taking place.