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Monday June 4 2:20 PM ET Philippine Troops Pursue Rebels

Philippine Troops Pursue Rebels

Audio/Video
Philippine Island In Uneasy Calm After Rebel Kidnapping - (Reuters)

By JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press Writer

LAMITAN, Philippines (AP) - After boldly seizing a hospital, Muslim rebels resumed their cat-and-mouse game in the jungle Monday with army troops anxious to make up for letting the militants slip past them twice with hostages in tow.

Troops were sent to Basilan island in the southeast to reinforce the five battalions pursuing an estimated 100 Abu Sayyaf guerrillas who have taken some 20 people hostage, including three Americans.

Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan pledged to pursue the rebels ``until they are finished.''

``We know some of these hostages are weak,'' Adan told reporters. ``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.''

On Sunday, the rebels were spotted on a Basilan mountain celebrating their escape the previous night past a military cordon in Lamitan, police said. But they were believed to be moving again after several hours' rest.

The Abu Sayyaf originally took 20 people hostage May 27 from an island resort in Palawan province, hundreds of miles from Basilan in the western Philippines.

Nine managed to flee during a heavy military assault on the hospital in Lamitan on Saturday or during the rebels' escape after the attack.

Among them was a security guard who told of fleeing after being hacked below the ear. The bodies of two resort workers were found Sunday. They had been hacked to death, and one of them was beheaded.

``We hope the fate and the unconditional release of the other hostages, including the three Americans, will follow,'' said Michael Anderson, a spokesman for the U.S Embassy.

On top of the nine who remain captive, the Abu Sayyaf seized about 11 nurses and others from Lamitan hospital, probably to provide injured rebels with medical care.

A hostage who managed to escape warned that a third attack was being planned, said Senior Inspector Ajid Dalawis of Lamitan police.

``We have conquered Palawan and Lamitan, and we have one more target,'' the former hostage quoted Abu Sabaya, a rebel leader who claims he led the resort raid, as saying over a two-way radio.

The Abu Sayyaf claims to be fighting for a separate Muslim state. Last year, the rebels took 10 foreign tourists hostage at a Malaysian resort, eventually releasing most of them in exchange for millions of dollars in ransom.

Clashes began Friday when troops came across the kidnappers and hostages in the jungle on Basilan.

The rebels captured the hospital early Saturday, sparking intense fighting. Fourteen security force members were killed and 42 injured, along with seven civilians.

Adan said the guerrillas were likely heading to Basilan's southern coast using a network of sympathizers and supply caches to commandeer fishing boats to flee to their main base on nearby Jolo island.

He pushed for declaration of a state of emergency or martial law on Basilan.

Rigoberto Tiglao, spokesman for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (news - web sites), said the suggestion was being evaluated.

Local reports said some hostages may have been freed after relatives paid ransoms via bank transfers. Adan refused to comment and reiterated the government's no-ransom policy.

The parents of an American missionary taken hostage said they had not been contacted and would not pay anyway.

``But we know that's how they work,'' said Paul Burnam of Rose Hill, Kan., whose son and daughter-in-law, Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kan., were seen in the Lamitan hospital.

A third American, Guillermo Sobero of Corona, Calif., also was among the captives, witnesses said.

Some criticized the military, saying the back of the hospital compound was left unguarded.

``We are disgusted why these people were able to escape,'' said Lamitan Mayor Inocente Ramos.

Adan defended his troops, saying the rebels used the hostages as human shields. Military reinforcements also came under fire at the Lamitan wharf, he said.

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Earlier Stories
Philippine Army to Wipe Out Rebels (June 4)
Muslim Rebels Escape Philippine Siege (June 3)
Bodies of 2 Philippines Hostages Found (June 3)
Bodies of Two Hostages Found (June 3)
Philippine Rebels Escape Army (June 3)
Muslim Extremists Escape Hospital (June 3)

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