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| World - Associated Press - updated 4:12 AM ET Jun 12 |
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Philippine Army to Wipe Out Rebels
By JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press Writer LAMITAN, Philippines (AP) - Embarrassed after Muslim extremists broke through a cordon of troops and escaped into the jungle with hostages, the Philippine military on Monday defended its actions and vowed to chase the guerrillas ``until they are finished.'' ``We know some of these hostages are weak,'' military spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said. ``That makes movement slow. What we are trying to do is to find (the rebels) ... so we can engage them in firefight and release hostages.'' But eight days into the nation's second major hostage crisis in a year, Adan said officials don't know where the rebels took their hostages - believed to number 20, including three Americans - after escaping from a besieged hospital on Basilan island late Saturday. The crisis began May 27, when the Abu Sayyaf seized 20 people from a resort off Palawan island in the western Philippines. The rebels eluded a massive air and sea search and a naval blockade, to reach Basilan, 280 miles to the southeast across the Sulu Sea. Clashes began Friday when troops came across the kidnappers and hostages in the jungles of the rugged island, which is about 35 miles long and 20 miles wide. Early Saturday, the rebels captured a 21-bed hospital in the town of Lamitan, taking more hostages. The fighting has killed 14 security force members and injured 42. Seven civilians have been wounded, and the bodies of two resort workers were found Sunday outside Lamitan, one of them headless. Nine hostages from the resort have escaped or been freed. Lamitan police Senior Inspector Ajid Dalawis said the rebels were spotted with the hostages Sunday on a mountain on Basilan, but later probably moved on. Adan said the army was sending reinforcements to back the five battalions - about 3,000 men - on Basilan. He said the rebels were able to escape the hospital because they used hostages as shields and had fighters placed around the town, diverting forces. Dalawis said one escaped hostage overheard an Abu Sayyaf leader talking on a two-way radio about another attack. He said former hostage recalled that the leader, Abu Sabaya, said the rebels ``have one more target'' after Palawan and Lamitan. Adan said the guerrillas were likely heading to Basilan's southern coast, using what he said was a network of sympathizers and supply caches. He said they likely want to commandeer fishing boats to flee to their main base on nearby Jolo island. The U.S. Embassy expressed regret Monday for the loss of life and relief that nine of the original hostages, all Filipinos, had escaped. ``We hope the fate and the unconditional release of the other hostages, including the three Americans, will follow,'' acting U.S. Embassy spokesman Michael Anderson said. The three Americans - Guillermo Sobero of Corona, Calif. and missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kan. - were still among the captives at the hospital, witnesses said. Adan said declaring a state of emergency or martial law on Basilan would help wipe out the Abu Sayyaf, which seized 10 foreign tourists about a year ago from a Malaysian resort. Most were released for millions of dollars in ransom. A spokesman for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Rigoberto Tiglao, said the suggestion was being evaluated but that it might not be necessary because the area of the fighting was limited. Earlier Stories
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