By Karen Lema MANILA, April 20 (Reuters) - The Philippine military has stepped up its campaign against the Abu Sayyaf after the Muslim terror group decapitated seven men and sent their heads to two army detachments, a spokesman said on Friday. The gruesome delivery, in two bloody sacks, was a message from the Muslim rebel group that it is still a menacing foe despite an eight-month ground offensive to flush it from the southern island of Jolo. "The commanding general of the Philippine Army issued a guidance to the army field commanders to intensify the military operations against the Abu Sayyaf," said army spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres. "We really have to stop and put an end to such barbaric acts." The military suspects the Abu Sayyaf may have beheaded the men this week in retaliation after troops killed more than 70 of its members, including two top leaders, in a campaign backed by U.S. advisers and equipment. The armed forces estimate that the Abu Sayyaf's core strength has been halved from around 400 fighters due to the operations. LOCAL SUPPORT To fully root out the Abu Sayyaf, the military needs the support of local communities but analysts fear that a recent offensive against another rebel group, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), could jeopardise local cooperation. The commander of military forces on Jolo told Reuters on Thursday that they will continue to track MNLF commander Habier Malik despite opposition from Muslim countries. After carefully avoiding airstrikes in their pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf, the military dropped 250 pounds on Malik's camp, triggering the evacuation of more than 40,000 people. "We cannot allow him to go unpunished. We want this cycle of violence to end soon," Major-General Ruben Rafael said in an interview. Around 30 rebels, three soldiers and one civilian have been killed and more than 100 people have been injured since Malik fired mortars at the army last week in retaliation for the death of two MNLF members in a "misencounter" with the military. The MNLF, including Malik, had been helping Philippine troops track the Abu Sayyaf and members of regional terror network, Jemaah Islamiah, believed to have carried out a series of deadly bombings in Indonesia. The Abu Sayyaf gained international notoriety around five years ago when they captured and beheaded tourists and church workers. Its members still kidnap people for ransom to raise funds. This week, the group had demanded a 5 million peso ($105,000) payment for the release of six of the men, who were working on a government road project and taken at gunpoint from their truck on Monday. A seventh man was kidnapped earlier that day.
