WASHINGTON—The United States on Tuesday offered up to $2.5 million in rewards for tips leading to the capture of three leaders of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap gang.

The state department announced a reward of up to $1 million for information on Radullan Sahiron, described as a senior leader of the Abu Sayyaf.

The same amount was offered for information on Abdul Basit Usman, an alleged bomb-maker for both Abu Sayyaf and the regional Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) extremist network.

Washington is also offering up to $500,000 for information on Khair Mundos, an alleged leader and financier of the Abu Sayyaf, blamed for some of the worst attacks in the Philippines.

The US government has listed the Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist organization.

The JI is linked to al-Qaida and blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings and other attacks in Southeast Asia.

The United States described as a key target the one-armed Sahiron—a known veteran of the Moro separatist guerrilla campaign in Mindanao who is based on the island of Jolo, where Abu Sayyaf hostages have been hidden.

“Many innocent men, women and children have been killed or seriously injured as a result of Sahiron’s actions,” state department spokesperson Ian Kelly said in a statement.

“Sahiron played a role in the May 2001 Dos Palmas kidnapping of three US citizens and 17 Filipinos,” the statement added.

US citizen Guillermo Sobero and other Dos Palmas hostages were later killed by the bandits.

The statement accused Sahiron of continuing “to plot terror schemes” in Mindanao, where Moro separatists are active, saying US authorities “consider Sahiron to be a threat” to US nationals and Filipinos.

Kelly said Basit Usman was “believed to have orchestrated several bombings that have killed, injured, and maimed many innocent civilians.”

Transfer of funds

Mundos, who remains at large following a prison escape in 2007, was arrested in May 2004 “on the first-ever money laundering charges against terrorists” after a probe by US and Philippine officials.

Mundos confessed to “having arranged the transfer of funds” from al-Qaida to an Abu Sayyaf leader for bombings and other crimes in Mindanao, it said.

Those with information on the location of the three suspects—who are all believed to be hiding in Mindanao—were urged to contact the nearest US Embassy or consulate or any US official or military commander, it said.

They can also contact the website for the state department’s “Rewards for Justice” program, which sponsors the rewards.

US help welcomed

In the Philippines, Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner welcomed US help in tracking down the suspects.

“This will really help our operations because the reward system has proven to be an effective formula in the neutralization of some Abu Sayyaf and JI elements,” Brawner said.

“We look at it as a part of the cooperation between the Philippine government and the US government in the campaign against global terrorism.”

Since its creation in 1984, “Rewards for Justice” has reportedly handed out more than $80 million to informers.

The Philippines had offered rewards of up to P5 million for Abu Sayyaf leaders in the past, leading to several tips that have resulted in the capture or killing of some of the group’s leaders. With reports from Agence France-Presse, Jocelyn R. Uy and Cynthia D. Balana in Manila