The mother of a suspected Malaysian terrorist leader killed in the Philippines has appealed for the return of the body of her dead son, a news report said Friday.

Aminah Abdul Aziz, 64, asked authorities in Kuala Lumpur and Manila to send back to Malaysia the body of her son Zulkifli Abdul Hir so he could be given proper burial.

zulkifli bin hir aka marwan wanted terrorist Zulkifli (left) , also known as Marwan, 46, was an engineer who worked in a telecommunications company in Kuala Lumpur before he became a leader of the Indonesia-based militant group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) in 2000.

He left behind a wife and three children.

The United States offered a US$5-million (RM15 million) bounty for his arrest or capture for his alleged involvement in terrorist attacks in Asia, including the 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia that killed more than 200 people.

"I was shocked to be informed of his death as I have not received any news or heard from him since he left home over 12 years ago," Aminah told the New Straits Times newspaper.

"If it is true that he has died, please being his body home."

Philippine authorities said Marwan was among the 15 suspected Muslim militants killed Thursday in a predawn airstrike in the southern island of Jolo, a known base for al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf rebels.

In another development, Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysian police were coordinating with their Philippine counterparts to help verify if Zulkifli was in fact among the 15 Muslim militants killed in yesterday’s airstrike on Jolo Island.

Hishammuddin said the police would arrange for the return of the body to Malaysia for burial, if it is confirmed to be the remains of Zulkifli, also known as Marwan.

Hishammuddin added Malaysian police were also awaiting confirmation on the killing of two more Malaysian militants, Bacho and Jeknal Adil, who were allegedly with the same group of Abu Sayyaf rebels during the attack.

- Agencies