U.S. military aircraft have started flying surveillance flights over the southern Philippines to gather intelligence in a stepped up battle against Muslim rebels in the Asian nation, the Washington Post reported on Thursday. Citing a senior U.S. defence official, the newspaper reported that the previously undisclosed flights were meant to complement a growing contingent of U.S. soldiers on the ground participating in training exercises with Philippine forces.
U.S. troops moved into the southern Philippines last month for joint exercises with the Philippine military aimed at wiping out Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, linked by Washington to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

The senior defence official told the Post that by later this spring, the information gained from the spy planes combined with better trained and equipped Filipino troops would "jolt" the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas. Bureau Report