JOHOR BAHARU, 7 FEBRUARY, 2012: Efforts by Philippine authorities to confirm whether Johor-born Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist Zulkifli Hir@Marwan was actually killed during an air attack in the country's southern region last Thursday has not been fruitful.

According to a regional security source, the Philippine authorities have yet to find a body in the forest of Pulau Jolo, located in the south of the country.

"We cannot verify claims of Zulkifli's death until now because they (Philippine army) have not found his body at the scene," he told Bernama when contacted here today.

He said finding the body was crucial in the efforts to confirm whether Zulkifli, who was born in Muar, was indeed a casualty as claimed.

The source said any effort to identify the body using DNA would also depend on finding the body at the scene of the air attack.

The Home Ministry also sent an officer to Manila to check if Zulkifli was among those killed in the incident.

Last Thursday, the Philippine army announced that Zulkifli and Abu Sayyaf senior leader, Umbra Jumdail, and Singaporean JI terrorist Abdullah Ali@Muawiyah were among 15 who died in the air attack.

Besides Zulkifli, there were also reports which claimed that another Malaysian terrorist, Amin Bacho, and Jeknal Adil, whose nationality is unknown, were also killed in the incident.

There were also allegations that Jeknal is a Malaysian citizen, but this was denied by the security source saying it is not confirmed.

The source added that the bodies of terrorists killed in the incident may have most likely been buried by their comrades.

"The Philippine authorities need to find and dig their graves to carry out DNA testing for confirmation of their identities, including that of Zulkifli, Amin and Jeknal," he said.

However, he said the Philippine army faced difficulties in entering the area as it was controlled by the Abu Sayyaf guerrilla and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

Media reports in the Philippines also stated that their army have not found the bodies near the Lanao Dakulah village in Pulau Jolo.

Meanwhile, two Filipino security officers who knew of the air attack operations had informed news agency Associated Press (AP) that Zulkifli an

Abdullah were not present when the attacks were carried out.

According to the republic's media reports, the air attack involved two of the Philippine army's OV10 Broncos aircraft which dropped bombs weighing 227kg at 3am on the day of the attack.

- Bernama