Philippine Forces Attack Muslim Rebels

Philippine forces advanced on the mountain base of Muslim rebels Sunday, hammering their defenses with airstrikes and artillery in an attempt to free 27 hostages.

The top general vowed to push ahead with the offensive against Abu Sayyaf rebels on southern Basilan Island, despite rebel threats to kill more hostages after beheading two last week.

The rebels killed those two after authorities refused their demands for the release of Muslim militants jailed in the United States, including the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

At least three soldiers were killed in Sunday’s fighting, officials said. Nine teenage rebels were killed as they tried to escape bombardment of their camp on the slopes of the mountains leading up to the main camp, Basilan Gov. Wahab Akbar said.

Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Ahmad denied that any rebels had died. He said two hostages, including a child, were injured in the shelling. Military officials said they could not confirm the report but have denied targeting the main camp, where the hostages are thought to be held.

Air force helicopters fired rockets at outlying rebel camps to allow ground troops to advance toward the main camp, said Maj. Gen. Diomedio Villanueva, chief of the military’s Southern Command.

Navy ships also have been deployed to prevent the rebels from escaping or receiving reinforcements from comrades in nearby provinces.

About 500 government troops were fighting an estimated 230-250 rebels in the rescue attempt in Basilan, an island province about 550 miles south of Manila, military officials said.

“I feel it’s about time we stop talking with these fanatics,” Villanueva told the Associated Press. Otherwise, “they will just kill the hostages one by one,” he said.

The Abu Sayyaf is the smaller but more radical of two Muslim groups 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 U.S. State Department has included the Abu Sayyaf in a list of 28 foreign groups that threaten Americans at home or abroad.

On Saturday, the rebels warned that they will behead five men they are holding, including a priest, if the military does not halt attempts to rescue the 27 hostages, among whom are many children and teachers, abducted from schools March 20.

Nonetheless, military chief Gen. Angelo Reyes said the assault will continue until the hostages are rescued and the rebels eliminated.

A provincial crisis-management committee that had been negotiating with the rebels made the decision to attack the camp after the Abu Sayyaf announced the killing of two hostages Wednesday.

The Abu Sayyaf has demanded the release of Ramzi Yousef, mastermind of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York, and Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, accused of conspiring to blow up New York City landmarks.

The demands were rejected by the Philippine government and by the U.S. Embassy.

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.