ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
Government troops stepped up efforts Saturday to rescue hostages and foreigners held by Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippines, after seven soldiers were killed and 24 others injured during recent clashes.
Lieutenant General Rustico Guerrero, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' Western Mindanao Command, said that the military was trying its best to get the hostages back safely from kidnappers in Patikul town in the island province - and Abu Sayyaf stronghold - of Sulu.
"We're very conscious about the safety of the hostages. I can't discuss the details but it's a continuing effort for their safety," Guerrero said after visiting Camp Navarro hospital, where injured soldiers are recuperating.
Guerrero was at the hospital to give Wounded Personnel Medals to 24 military troops injured during a fierce firefight with the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul last Thursday, during which 10 militants and seven soldiers were killed while 24 others were wounded.
Most of the government casualties were hit by mortar fire launched by the extremist group.
Guerrero confirmed reports that different factions of the Abu Sayyaf were holding the hostages.
Asbang, one of the Abu Sayyaf group’s sub-commanders under leader Radullan Sahiron, is reportedly holding captive five hostages, including a foreman and two foreigners, while another faction is understood to be holding European bird watchers Elwold Horn and Lorenzo Vinceguerre - snatched from the neighboring island of Tawi-Tawi in February 2012.
Two Germans - Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and his female companion, Herike Diesen, 55 - initially reported missing while sailing on their yacht near the Philippines island province of Palawan last April - are also reportedly being held by the group.
Aside from the four Europeans, the Abu Sayyaf is also holding separately two Malaysian hostages it seized from Sabah, Malaysia last May.
Reports reaching Anadolu Agency in Zamboanga City showed that the kidnappers allegedly beheaded one Filipino hostage and another was killed during last Thursday's clash in Patikul.
"The reports are still being confirmed on the ground... we're trying to confirm that," said Guerrero.
Guerrero disclosed that they have received reports that some faction members of Moro National Liberation Front involved in last September’s siege of the majority Christian city of Zamboanga are also helping assist Abu Sayyaf in its ongoing battle with government troops.
A Sulu-based radio station reported that gunshots could sporadically be heard either from the government troops or Abu Sayyaf militants in Patikul town, where a joint military and police rescue operation for hostages is ongoing.
The Abu Sayyaf engages in kidnappings for ransom, bombings, assassinations and extortion.
It has been linked to al-Qaeda and is the most violent of the religious separatist groups operating in the southern Philippines, and claims to promote an independent Islamic state in western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago.
www.aa.com.tr/en
