(Adds Abu Sayyaf kidnap five power company employees)

MANILA, June 26 (Reuters) - The Abu Sayyaf, once the Philippines' most feared Islamic militant group, has splintered since the death of its leader and is now just a collection of bandits, the head of the armed forces said on Thursday.

"It has degenerated into a money-making group ... (with) activity devoid of any semblance of ideology or cause, they have degenerated into plain bandits," General Alexander Yano told reporters.

The Abu Sayyaf, which has links to regional terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiah, is blamed for the Philippines' worst terrorist attack; the bombing of a ferry outside Manila in 2004 that killed more than 100 people.

On Thursday, police on the southern island of Basilan, a base of the Abu Sayyaf, said members of the group had abducted five employees from an electric company.

Yano said he did not think the Abu Sayyaf had an acknowledged leader since their chief, Khadaffy Janjalani, was killed in a clash with Marines in September 2006.

He said the group's recent kidnapping of a Philippine television journalist and her crew, who were later released, showed that the group needed funds.

The Abu Sayyaf, which is estimated to have around 350 members, also no longer had permanent bases.

The Philippine military, with help from U.S. special forces, mounted a prolonged ground offensive against the Abu Sayyaf in 2006 and 2007, killing many of the organisation's key members. (Reporting by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

AlertNet news is provided by