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.
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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.
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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.
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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]
She's a lying sack of.......
She has done everything in her power to keep the US troops at bay. She made it very plain she wanted no outside interference while the Burnham's were tortured and moved around like abused animals.
WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE???
Why is this not drop-dead headline news????
These people suffered for over a year, a ransom was paid to the filthy scum that held them and now Mr. Burnham is dead.
We owe more to these people than to bury this story on the back page.