Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) chief Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamko said Edris, who had a P3-million bounty for his capture, was earlier apprehended with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commander Mahmud Ismael while trying to slip through a military checkpoint in Sultan Naga Dimaporo town.
Both were shot after they allegedly tried to wrestle away firearms from soldiers while in transit, Kyamko said.
Kyamko said the soldiers had recovered from the suspects two caliber .45 pistols. But while Edris and Ismael were being escorted to Army headquarters, Edris fought and tried to escape, forcing the soldiers to shoot.
"They were stopped at the checkpoint and were arrested. They were supposed to take soldiers to the hideout of Al-Ghozi but they grabbed the firearms of the soldiers. There was a commotion and they were shot," Kyamko said. "Both of them were killed."
Kyamko said he believed Al-Ghozi could be near the area and that local Muslim militants could be trying to help him escape. "I believe we are near," he said.
Kyamko said they have yet to determine if Al-Ghozi is with the group of Edris, who had reportedly been given refuge by an MILF faction.
"We could not say that the MILF organization (is holding Al-Ghozi), but there are small groups whom he probably worked (with) before (which are) protecting him," Kyamko said.
"But there are suspicions that they are together and this also confirmed reports that after they escaped from their detention cells in Manila they went to Mindanao," he added.
A source from the Southcom disclosed that Edris and his companion were apprehended by the military when they tried to cross a checkpoint on a vehicle.
After they were positively identified and frisked for weapons, both volunteered to guide the troops to the whereabouts of Al-Ghozi.
"When subjected to a military interrogation, Edris and Ishmael volunteered to guide government troops to the hideout of Al-Ghozi whom they claimed they were hiding," the source said.
The source added the two decided against betraying Al-Ghozi at the last minute and grabbed a rifle of the troopers, triggering a scuffle that led to the fatal shooting.
Armed Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero said the death of Edris also indicated the presence of Al-Ghozi in the area.
"There are indications that Al-Ghozi could be somewhere in that area," he said.
Edris, with fellow Abu Sayyaf member Omar Lasal and Al-Ghozi escaped from what was supposedly a highly secured detention center inside the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters at Camp Crame last month.
Their escape embarrassed President Arroyo since it came on the same day Australian Prime Minister John Howard was visiting Manila to boost anti-terror cooperation.
Al-Ghozi was serving a 17-year jail term for explosives possession. He had earlier admitted to plotting bomb attacks on Western targets in Singapore and led Philippine police to almost a ton of explosives hidden in General Santos City last February. — With reports Jaime Laude, Mike Frialde, AFP