Free Republic

<p>The Philippines is in the midst of a brutal war on drugs sanctioned by the controversial President Rodrigo Duterte, which has seen almost 2,000 killings in a matter of weeks. The BBC's Jonathan Head explores the country's dark underbelly of dealers and assassins through the story of one woman trapped in a chilling predicament.</p>

MANILA -- Craving for peanut butter and bread proved the undoing of Abu Sayyaf rebels when Philippine troops finally pounced on them after a year-long search, a Manila newspaper said Monday. The 376-day crisis ended in a firefight on the Zamboanga Peninsula on Friday, after thousands of troops had scoured heavily-jungled southern Basilan Island in vain for more than 12 months. U.S. Missionary Martin Burnham and Filipina nurse were killed in the battle and Burnham's wife Gracia was rescued, AFP reported. "We were able to determine the presence of the Abu Sayyaf when a resident here saw a neighbor bringing...