3 Soldiers Die in Philippine Rescue Effort

Three soldiers and four guerrillas were killed in a rescue operation to free 27 hostages held by Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines, the army said Saturday.

About 500 soldiers were fighting an estimated 230 to 250 rebels in the attack, which was continuing early today, said Gen. Angelo Reyes, the armed forces chief of staff.

In addition to the fatalities, the army reported that three soldiers were wounded.

The guerrillas threatened to kill five male hostages, including a priest, if the government did not halt its operation. The threat came three days after the rebels said they had executed two male teachers.

“After the operation, let [the military] come to get the heads of each of the male hostages, including the priest,” said rebel spokesman Abu Ahmad.

Reyes said the decision to attack the Abu Sayyaf rebel camp in remote Basilan province was made by a provincial committee that has handled the hostage negotiations.

The committee’s spokesman, Chris Puno, said the earlier beheading of two hostages left the committee “with no option but to resort to a military operation.”

The rebels originally seized more than 50 people, including many children, from two schools in Basilan on March 20 for use as human shields after attacking an army outpost. Some of the hostages have since been freed.

In retaliation for the abduction, a group of vigilantes seized 11 relatives of Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani. They are still holding nine relatives after freeing Janjalani’s pregnant wife and a daughter.

The Abu Sayyaf is a Muslim extremist group fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines. It has been blamed for numerous attacks on Christians, including the abduction of foreign missionaries.

The rebels said they had beheaded the two men because the government had ignored the conditions they set for the release of the hostages.

The group has demanded the release of Ramzi Yousef, mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York, and co-conspirator Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman. The Philippine government and the U.S. Embassy have rejected the demands.

The rebels said the military began pounding their camp, about 550 miles south of Manila, with mortars early Saturday.

Lydia Aron, a hostage who was allowed to speak by telephone to ABS-CBN television, said the child captives screamed when the government assault began.

“We are afraid of all the shelling because our living quarters do not offer any protection. The Abu Sayyaf are not moving us to the bunkers because that is for them,” said Aron, a first-grade teacher. “We appeal to the government to stop.”