One of the top leaders of the al Qaeda-linked militant group in the Philippines might have been killed, along with five others, in a pre-dawn clash Sunday between the group and government soldiers in the country's restless south, the military said.

Lt. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, a regional military commander, told reporters that troops clashed with Abu Sayyaf militants at a remote village of Maimbung town of Sulu province at around 7 a.m. Sunday (2300 GMT Saturday).

Dolorfino said they recovered 6 rebel bodies after the brief exchange of fire and suspected that one of the Abu Sayyaf leaders - - either Albader Parad or Dr. Abu -- is among the slain.

Dolorfino said three Marines were slightly injured in the battle. Troops also recovered high-powered weapons from the rebel group.

The Abu Sayyaf, founded in early 1990s, is the most notorious militant group in the Philippines. It is blamed for a series of bombing and kidnapping in the country over the past decade. But after U.S.-backed military assaults killed its top leader Khadaffy Janjalani in 2006, the roughly-400-member group dissolved into small fractions operating loosely in the Sulu archipelago.

There is no clear group leader after Janjalani's death but Dr. Abu and Albader Parad are among the top ranks. They especially established their names after the kidnapping of three workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Sulu last year. The three -- a Filipina, a Swiss and a Italian -- were freed after reportedly large amount of ransom was paid.