US Missionary dies in rescue battle Philippines (executed by Abu Sayyaf holy warriors)

Daily Telegraph ^ | June 08 2002

[knighthawk]

MANILA: US hostage Martin Burnham and a local nurse were killed in a rescue attempt yesterday, but Mr Burnham's wife was freed from Abu Sayyaf rebels, a Philippine military commander said.

Colonel Renato Padua told reporters Christian missionary Mr Burnham, 42, was executed by the rebels when they realised a rescue attempt was under way.

Mr Burnham's wife, Gracia, was in hospital, being treated for wounds received after she was grazed by a bullet.

Four Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed and seven soldiers wounded in the gun battle, which continued in the mountainous area into late afternoon, Colonel Padua said.

The US couple from Kansas were kidnapped in an Abu Sayaff raid on a southern Philippines tourist resort in May 2001.

Deborah Yap, a local nurse, was also killed in yesterday's rescue attempt in the jungles of the southern Philippines.

Following news of the shootings, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo vowed to put an end to Abu Sayaff terrorism.

"The terrorists shall not be allowed to get away with this," Ms Arroyo said.

"We shall not stop until the Abu Sayyaf is finished. I ask our people to be vigilant. The battle shall go on."

[knighthawk]

Born to kill, allahs will.

[knighthawk]

Religion of peace alert!

If people want on or off this list, please let me know.

[lormand]

Let us hope that each and everyone of these pigs are killed during capture.

[knighthawk]

Islam online tries to make people believe both got shot by the soldiers! Not a word of the execution!

U.S., Philippine Hostages Killed in Failed Rescue Attempt

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, June 7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – After being held hostage for over a year, a U.S. missionary and a Filipina nurse were killed Friday as an attempt by the Philippine military to rescue them from Abu Sayyaf rebels after their captivity ended in tragedy.

"He is dead," Philippine military chief General Roy Cimatu told reporters in Manila, referring to Martin Burnham, who was held captive together with his wife, Gracia Burnham, and Filipina nurse Ediborah Yah.

Gracia Burnham was rescued and was treated at a hospital in the southern Philippines for a leg wound, the military's deputy chief of staff Lieutenant General Narciso Abaya said, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

The military said she was out of danger and would be flown to Okinawa along with her husband's body.

The U.S. couple from Kansas were kidnapped in an Abu Sayyaf raid on a Philippine tourist resort in May 2001 and taken to the south and confined to the island of Basilan.

They were missionaries belonging to a U.S. evangelical group. The mission offered their condolences Friday in a statement.

The New Tribes Mission (NTM) in Sanford, Florida, asked members to pray for Martin Burnham, Ediborah Yap and Burnham's wife Gracia.

"Our hearts are heavy over the loss of Martin and Deborah [Ediborah]. We are grateful for Gracia's survival and we ache for her, their children and the rest of the families," the mission said in a statement.

Yap, a Filipina nurse, who was kidnapped several days later, was also killed in Friday's rescue attempt near the town of Sirawai in the Zamboanga peninsula, Cimatu said.

Four Abu Sayyaf gunmen were shot dead and seven soldiers were wounded in the firefight, which continued in the mountainous area into late afternoon, officials said.

President Gloria Arroyo vowed to "finish" off the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas as she offered condolences to the relatives of the Burnhams.

"I am deeply saddened over the death of Martin Burnham and one of our very own, Ediborah Yap, who were slain in an encounter between our troops and the Abu Sayyaf after more than a year in captivity," Arroyo said in a statement.

She defended the military, saying, "Our soldiers tried their best to hold their fire for their [the hostages'] safety. I salute our troops for their forbearance".

"The terrorists shall not be allowed to get away with this. We shall not stop until the Abu Sayyaf is finished. I ask our people to be vigilant. The battle shall go on, wherever it takes us."

Most Muslims also consider Abu Sayyaf as guerillas driven by desires to extort ransom money from the families of their hostages.

U.S. General Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, immediately distanced U.S. forces from participation in the bloody rescue attempt.

"What I know is the Philippine armed forces made a hostage rescue, that in that rescue attempt, Mr. Burnham was killed, Mrs. Burnham was wounded, not life threatening, and that Mrs. Yap, the [Filipina] hostage was killed," Myers told journalists at the end of a NATO Defense Ministers meeting in Brussels.

He asserted, "to the best of my knowledge there was no U.S. involvement".

U.S. embassy officials in Manila conferred with Arroyo in Manila and finalized arrangements for Gracia Burnham and her slain husband to be flown from Zamboanga to the U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan late Friday from the south.

It was unclear how, or when, the Abu Sayyaf gang moved out of Basilan where they were being pursued by 5,000 Philippine troops.

Over the past four months, 1,000 U.S. military advisers have been training Filipino troops based in Basilan going after the Abu Sayyaf, a band of Muslim guerrillas with reputed links to Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Army Scout Rangers Colonel Renato Padua said Martin Burnham, 42, a Wichita, Kansas native who grew up in the Philippines "was executed by the Abu Sayyaf rebels" when they realized a rescue attempt was underway.

Martin Burnham's mother, Oreta Burnham, told Philippine television network GMA that the couple's three children were still unaware of the fate of their father.

U.S. President George W. Bush also expressed sadness over the deaths of the hostages, saying, "I'm - first let me say how sad we are that Martin Burnham lost his life.

"I'm pleased that Mrs. Burnham is alive. That's good."

Bush said he had received assurances from Philippine President Gloria Arroyo that the rebel group would be brought to justice.

"She assured me that the Philippine government would hold the terrorist group accountable for how they treated these Americans, that justice would be done," Bush said.

"We are obviously going to look at all the particulars and the facts, and the State Department will be talking about that later on today."

Botched rescue attempt ends in death of two hostages.

[Salvation]

She defended the military, saying, "Our soldiers tried their best to hold their fire for their [the hostages'] safety. I salute our troops for their forbearance".

This would indicate that the Filipino soldiers did NOT mistakenly bring the nurse or Burnham to their deaths.

[aristeides]

FYI.

[knighthawk]

Also the 'Riyadh Daily', a Saudi newssource, plays the same game:

Hostages Killed in Botched Philippine Rescue Attempt

I though lying was forbidden by islam!

[PLMerite]

Now that the innocents are out of harms way, can we start carpet-bombing the place?

Too bad Delta couldn't have gone in. Probably would have rescued everyone and killed the bad guys before they knew what was going on...

[drq]

My condolences to the family.

[RoseofTexas]

MY EXACT THOUGHTS!! The US was there for a purpose, to bring the couple to safety...WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED!! This reminds me of the movie I saw last night...BEHIND ENEMY LINES. The US should have gone in after them...they were precious cargo that should have been recused at all cost by the US govt.! My deep felt condolences to the family.

[swampfox98]

"We shall not stop until the Abu Sayyaf is finished. I ask our people to be vigilant. The battle shall go on."

I hope she means this. I have seen this gal and she seems to be a tough cookie. Thank God.

[wimpycat]

I don't know how or why anyone would blame the Phillipine military for their deaths. They did their very best, and remember, those murderous sons of bitches, Abu Sayaff, or whatever the hell they call themselves, are the ones who kidnapped them, beheaded one guy, forced women to cover their heads, forced one of them to marry, and practically starved Mr. Burnham to death before he was shot. I don't care whose bullet actually killed him, but it's not the fault or lack of skill or effort of the ones who tried to rescue them. I don't blame anyone, or fault anyone, for the deaths of those poor people, except for the MURDEROUS SONS OF BITCHES WHO KIDNAPPED THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! We're lucky Mrs. Burnham is alive. I think they all would have died or been killed if the Phillipine military hadn't moved on them.

[Bosco]

The church where I worship supports numerous missionaries. One of them is doing work in the Philippines, and he was well acquainted with the Burnhams.

A month or 2 ago, this missionary shared with our congregation that he had spent some time with the Burnhams just a few days before they were abducted.

He also said that Martin Burnham was a wonderful Christian witness, and that the Abu Sayeef kidnappers would get a first-hand experience of what a Christian really looks like - not unlike the experience that the Roman guards had with their prisoner, Saul of Tarsus. He also asked that we pray for the kidnappers.

This evening (6/7), one of the evening news programs had a short statement from Martin Burnham's parents, with his father saying that "we were hoping to be reunited with Martin in this life, but it looks like we will have to wait to see him in the next."

These Islamic terrorists can kill the body, but not our souls. Pray for them - their darkness is great.

All hail, King Jesus.

[bok]

They didn't let the U.S. military kick A**!

I blame the government of the philippines.

[elephantlips]

This event can go on that "wonderful" multiple-choice list: Who killed the American missionary in the Philippines?

[xJones]

These Islamic terrorists can kill the body, but not our souls. Pray for them - their darkness is great.

It is dark, indeed.

[McGavin999]

We need to send prayers for Gracia, she's going to need God's comfort and strength to get over this.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

MURDEROUS SONS OF BITCHES WHO KIDNAPPED THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

The only sensible solution is to exterminate the vermin. Hate to quote a movie line from a leftist film, but: "Get busy living (= killing) or get busy dying"