MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Government troops chased down a group of Abu Sayyaf militants who killed two government militiamen in the southern Philippines, seriously wounding a leading militant blamed for deadly attacks and kidnappings, officials said Sunday.

About 30 Abu Sayyaf gunmen staged an attack Saturday that killed two militiamen near mountainous Sumisip township on Basilan island. Reinforcement troops later caught up with the attackers and seriously wounded and possibly killed their leader, Abugao Bayali, said Rear Adm. Alex Pama, who heads a counterterrorism force.

"He's one of the more notorious commanders and we've worked very hard to get him," Pama said.

A military report said Bayali was wanted for deadly attacks last year that killed at least eight people, including village leaders and policemen in Sumisip, where he maintained a stronghold.

Bayali was involved in at least three kidnappings for ransom and used homemade bombs in two attacks last month against government troops in Basilan, a predominantly Muslim island about 550 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila, the report said.

Last month, he led a brutal attack that killed a militiaman and 10 civilians in the Basilan village of Tubigan, according to the report.

Bayali was believed to have given sanctuary to Malaysian militant Zulkifli bin Hir, a U.S.-trained engineer wanted by Washington for allegedly having given bomb-making training to the Abu Sayyaf.

U.S.-backed offensives have considerably weakened the Abu Sayyaf, which has more than 390 fighters, but the government still considers the group a major security menace.