MANILA (AFP) -- The Philippine government said Wednesday it was confident Muslim separatists would continue to help hunt down wanted Islamic militants, despite a breakdown in peace talks between Manila and the rebels.

"We are confident the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will continue to back up the counter-terrorism campaign as part of its commitment to peace and the rule of law, having renounced any links with the Abu Sayyaf and the JI," presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

The Philippine military is conducting a major campaign to capture remnants of the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim extremist group operating in the southern Philippines, and the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) network.

Both groups are believed to have links to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network and are on the U.S. government's blacklist of foreign terror organizations.

The presidential spokesman's comment came a day after the U.S. government offered a 50,000-dollar reward for the capture of former MILF special operations chief Abdul Basit Usman.

Usman, who is now believed to be hiding with the Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines and has forged links with the JI, is wanted for a string of bomb attacks on Mindanao island last year.

The 12,000-strong MILF is engaged in peace talks with Manila and had earlier agreed to help the government of President Gloria Arroyo hunt down foreign militants operating in Mindanao.

But the talks stalled after the MILF demanded control of their ancestral lands from the government.

Bunye also welcomed the U.S. bounty on Basit, stressing that it would help bring "greater peace of mind" in the impoverished region plagued by terrorism.

"Our alliance with the United States in the fight against terror extends to all fronts," he said.