Posted on 06/07/2002 1:32:47 AM PDT by HAL9000
Armed Forces chief confirms 2 hostages dead, 1 rescued
Posted: 5:45 PM (Manila Time) | Jun. 07, 2002
INQ7.net and Agence France-Presse
ZAMBOANGA – US hostage Martin Burnham and Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap were killed but Burnham's wife, Gracia, was freed in a rescue attempt by the Philippine military on Friday, Armed Forces chief Gen. Roy Cimatu confirmed on Friday.
"He is dead," Cimatu told reporters, referring to Christian missionary Martin Burnham. His wife, Gracia Burnham, "is in hospital," he added. The US couple from Kansas were kidnapped in an Abu Sayaf raid on a Philippine tourist resort in May 2001.
Ediborah Yap, a Filipina nurse, was also killed in the rescue attempt at 2:30PM Friday in the jungles of Zamboanga del Norte, Cimatu added.
Gracia Burnham was hit in the leg and is currently under treatment at the Armed Forces Southern Command hospital.
The rescue attempt, part of a planned military operation, was mounted in the early afternoon near the town of Siraway on Mindanao island's Zamboanga peninsula. Seven government troops were killed in the encounter.
Sporadic hostilities are still ongoing, Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya said in a television interview.
Abaya said government troops recovered the "three victims" from the encounter, and found Martin Burnham dead, and Gracia Burnham and Ediborah Yap wounded. Yap later expired while being treated at the hospital, Abaya said.
The Philippine military believes that for most of their ordeal, the Burnhams were held hostage on the nearby southern island of Basilan, where US troops are helping to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf rebels.
AFP: Hostage Gracia Burnham garbed in military fatigues
Brig. Gen. Eduardo Purificacion, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, told journalists Friday afternoon that reports from the field indicated Abu Sayyaf hostage Gracia Burnham, who was wounded on the right leg in the crossfire between her captors and pursuing Army Scout Rangers, was dressed in military fatigues.
This was apparently a ploy by the bandits to make it difficult for the government troops to differentiate the hostages from the bandits.
Gracia's husband, Martin, and fellow hostage Ediborah Yap died in the encounter which started at 2:30 p.m. in the wooded border area between Sirawai and Sibuco in Zamboanga del Norte.
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Arroyo grieves over death of Burnham, Yap
President Gloria Arroyo expressed grief upon learning of the death of Abu Sayyaf captives Martin Burnham and Ediborah Yap during a military encounter with the bandits in Zamboanga del Norte province Friday afternoon.
"I am deeply saddened over the death of Martin Burnham, and one of our very own, Ediborah Yap after more than a year in captivity. I commiserate with the Burnham and Yap families," Arroyo said in a statement issued from Malacañang.
Military reports said the incident occurred about 2:30 p.m. in the boundaries of Sirawai and Sibuco municipalities.
A third hostage, Martin's spouse Gracia, sustained a bullet wound in the right leg. She was airlifted to the Southern Command hospital in Zamboanga City.
abs-cbnNEWS.com
7 soldiers hurt so far in Zambo Norte clash vs ASG
Gen. Narciso Abaya, Armed Forces of the Philippines Deputy Chief of Staff, said initial field reports said seven Scout Rangers were wounded during the encounter with Abu Sayyaf bandits in Zamboanga del Norte, which resulted in the death of two hostages, American Martin Burnham and Filipinas nurse Ediborah Yap.
Abaya said the identities of the wounded troops were unavailable as the firefight was still ongoing.
A third hostage, Martin's wife Gracia, sustained a bullet wound in the right leg. She was airlifted to the Southern Command hospital in Zamboanga City.
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Martin Burnham, kidnapped more than a year ago along with his wife Gracia by the Abu Sayyaf group, was shot and killed during the operation in the town of Siraway, said Gen. Roy Cimatu, the Philippine military chief of staff.
His wife was being treated in a military hospital. The extent of her injuries was unclear.
Philippine officers said hundreds of elite troops equipped with night vision goggles and backed by U.S. surveillance technology launched the attack to try to rescue the Wichita, Kan., missionaries Friday as part of an extended search that has been going on for almost two weeks.
The Philippine military said intelligence showed that members of the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim rebel group infamous for beheading hostages, were holed up with at least one of the Burnhams in the fishing village in the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte.
The Light Reaction Company, a stealthy U.S.-trained unit equipped with silencers, night vision equipment and high-tech headsets, fanned out secretly throughout the area of coconut groves and farms in recent days after solid indications that at least one of the Burnhams was held near there.
The Burnhams were kidnapped May 27, 2001 by members of the Abu Sayyaf, which says it is fighting to carve a Muslim state out of the southern Philippines.
The guerrillas kidnapped 18 other people along with the Burnhams, including 17 Filipinos and Corona, Calif., resident Guillermo Sobero.
Sobero was beheaded by the guerrillas in June 2001, according to U.S. and Filipino officials.
The Muslim fighters are thought to number only 60 or so from an original force of 1,000 after a year of army offensives. [End]
Martin Burnham executed: ground commander
NO US TROOPS INVOLVED
Posted: 5:50 PM (Manila Time) | Jun. 07, 2002
Agence France-Presse
ZAMBOANGA – US hostage Martin Burnham was murdered by Abu Sayyaf guerrillas during a surprise military rescue attempt in the southern Philippines on Friday, the army commander on the ground told Agence France-Presse.
Burnham and Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap were killed and Burnham's wife Gracia was wounded but freed in the raid near the town of Siraway, according to officials. Kansas native Martin Burnham, 42, "was executed by the Abu Sayyaf rebels" when they realized that a rescue attempt was underway, Army Scout Rangers Col. Renato Padua said.
Gracia Burnham was "grazed by a bullet," he said without elaborating.
There was no mention of how Yap was killed.
Four Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed and seven soldiers were wounded in the firefight, which continued in the mountainous area into late afternoon, Padua added by telephone.
"This is a close-quarter battle," he said. "No American troops are involved here."
Over the past four months, 1,000 US military advisers have been training Filipino troops going after the Abu Sayyaf, a band of Muslim guerrillas with reputed links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
American chopper sighted at scene of ASG firefight
Residents near the scene of the firefight between the bandit Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and pursuing Army Scout Rangers reported seeing at least one American MH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter but could not say for sure if any American soldiers participated directly in the encounter.
The Pave Hawk's primary wartime missions include infiltration, exfiltration and resupply of special operations.
The local villagers near the fringe area of Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte said they scampered to take cover when the firing started.
Maan Macapagal, Radio dzMM
Macapagal 'saddened' by Abu hostages' death
Posted: 5:58 PM (Manila Time) | Jun. 07, 2002
By Lira Dalangin
INQ7.net
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said she is saddened by the death of American hostage Martin Burnham and Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap in a firefight between the Abu Sayyaf bandits and pursuing government troops in Zamboanga del Norte Friday afternoon.
"I am deeply saddened by the death of Martin Burnham and one of our very own Ediborah Yap . . .. We commiserate with the Burnham and Yap families. This has been a long and painful trial for them, for our government, and for our country," Macapagal said in a statement. Macapagal said the Armed Forces did their best to insure the safety of the hostages, despite Martin and Yap's death.
"Our soldiers tried their best to hold their fire for their safety. We had hoped and prayed for their safe return," she said.
Macapagal urged the nation to pray for the immediate recovery of Martin's wife, Gracia, who was rescued alive but was hit in the ensuing gunfight.
"Gracia is safe, this is our blessing. I pray for her early recovery," the President said.
She congratulated the military and the American forces participating in the Balikatan 02-1 joint military training for their relentless pursuit of the bandits who have held their hostages for more than a year.
"I salute our troops for their forebearance and courage. I thank our Amercian military allies for their assistance," she said.
Despite the hostages' rescue, Macapagal said pursuit operations against the bandits would continue: "We shall not stop until the Abu Sayyaf is finished. The battle shall go on wherever it takes us."
Kill all these Islamic savages!
It was Martin who was being carried on the stretcher. I had erroneously posted that it was Gracia, but someone pointed out my mistake in a reply on that thread.
Armed Forces to reinforce troops in cordon vs Abus
Posted: 6:22 PM (Manila Time) | Jun. 07, 2002
INQ7.net
THE ARMED Forces has sent more troops from the Army and the Marines to beef up its cordon around Sirawai and neighboring towns in Zamboanga del Norte to prevent remnants of the Abu Sayyaf bandits from escaping, an official said.
"We have deployed additional troops to prevent them from getting away Zamboanga del Norte," Southern Command spokesperson Lt. Col. Danilo Servando told radio dzBB. The report also noted increased presence of American soldiers, participating in the ongoing Balikatan 02-1 exercises, in the encounter site but did not say if they would directly take part in the battle.
He said government troops are engaged in a running gunbattle with the bandits after the rescue of American hostage Gracia Burnham Friday afternoon. Gracia's husband, Martin and another hostage, Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap, however, were killed.
Servando said police forces have also been deployed in coordination with the military to hunt down those who might have sought lair in houses of civilians.
He said they would not allow the Abu Sayyaf to once again slip military cordon, after eluding a tight blockade in Basilan, crossing over Zamboanga del Norte.
Family of U.S. Missionary Hostage Shaken by News
June 07, 2002 06:37 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The parents of U.S. missionary Martin Burnham, who was held hostage in the Philippines for more than a year, were shaken by the news of their son's death on Friday.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said on Friday Burnham was killed and his wife Gracia wounded in heavy fighting between Philippine troops and Muslim guerrillas holding them hostage for over a year.
But Arroyo said Gracia was safe. Military officials said she was in a military hospital in southern Philippines.
When asked to comment on their son's ordeal and his missionary work, Paul and Oreta Burnham said, "We can't talk about that right now."
The missionary's parents, who live in Rose Hill, Kansas, said officials from the Philippine government called with the tragic news on Friday morning.
"They have Martin's body and Gracia's undergone surgery. Her leg is wounded and she's in stable condition," Oreta Burnham said.
The missionaries' three children had been on vacation with their maternal grandparents but are headed to Kansas, Oreta Burnham said. The elder Burnhams have been caring for Jeff, 15, Mindy, 12, and Zach, 11, since the kidnapping.
State Department officials and the New Tribes Mission, to which the Burnhams belong, had no immediate comment.
The American couple's nightmare began on May 27, 2001, a day after they arrived at a beach resort off Palawan island to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary.
Abu Sayyaf gunmen, riding in motor boats, raided the resort at dawn, grabbing the Burnhams, another American and 17 Filipinos and spiriting them away across 300 miles (480 km) of sea to their hideout on Basilan.
The rebels later beheaded the third American, Guillermo Sobero, and some of the Filipinos. Others were freed for ransom.
Martin, 42, and Gracia, 43, were the longest-held foreign captives in the Philippines since Muslim separatists began seizing hostages in the 1970s to press for an Islamic state in the south of the mainly Catholic former U.S. colony.
The United States has linked the Abu Sayyaf to Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network, the prime suspects in the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
In what is viewed as the second front of Washington's war against terror, about 1,000 U.S. soldiers are participating in a joint exercise in the southern Philippines to upgrade the skills of Filipino troops in fighting the Abu Sayyaf.
Burnham family in 'deep sadness' over Martin's death
Posted: 6:45 PM (Manila Time) | Jun. 07, 2002
INQ7.net and Agence France-Presse
THE FAMILY of Martin Burnham expressed deep sadness over the death of the US hostage Friday in a rescue operation in the jungles of Zamboanga del Norte.
Burnham's mother, Oreta, told "Saksi" at GMA-7 that the couple's three children were still unaware of the fate of their father. "Gracia, we talked to your mom and we really remember you and are praying for you. We love you very much," Oreta Burnham said in a message aired over the network.
The Burnham children were staying with Gracia's parents, she said.
"The other grandparents are going to break the news soon. It's a hard situation. We don't know what our plans are," she said.
Martin and Gracia Burnham, from Wichita, Kansas, were kidnapped by Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels in May last year while celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at a western Philippine beach resort.
Philippine troops caught up with their captors Friday, triggering clashes in which Martin Burnham and the Filipina nurse, Ediborah Yap, were killed.
My hope is that before the day is over there, there will be 60 or so fundy islamics on the way to Hell.
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