Malaysian police say no sign of surrender; leader of Kiram group killed?

Despite days of assault on their suspected hideout in Lahad Datu in Sabah, followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III are still showing no sign of surrender, Malaysia police Inspector General Tan Sri Ismail Omar said Friday. A report on Malaysia's state-run Bernama news agency quoted Ismail as saying security forces are continuing their hunt for Kiram's followers after 31 of them were killed in Thursday's operations. "After the 31 militants were killed, there has been no indication that the remnants want to lay down arms," he was quoted in the Bernama report as saying. Malaysian security forces assaulted the suspected hideout of Kiram's followers this week following deadly clashes since March 1. While Sultan Kiram had offered a unilateral ceasefire Thursday, Malaysia has rejected it and demanded instead that Kiram's followers lay down their arms. Leader killed? Meanwhile, Ismail said the clothing of one of the slain Kiram followers may indicate he was a leader of the group. "We are trying to identify (the body) based on the attire but he was a chief of the militants," the Bernama report quoted him as saying. "For now, we can safely say that, based on the clothing, among those killed was one of their leaders," a separate report on Malaysia's The Star online quoted Ismail as saying. — LBG, GMA News