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22.08.02, 21:19
Muslim rebels behead two hostages
The Abu Sayyaf is notorious for kidnappings
Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines have beheaded two Christian
hostages, part of a group of Jehovah's Witnesses seized on Tuesday.
The kidnappers are terrorists, animals and barbarians
Brigadier General Romeo Tolentino
The two severed heads were found by the Philippines military on the remote
southern island of Jolo.
The army chief on Jolo, Brigadier General Romeo Tolentino, said that a note
was attached to one of the heads, saying: "Those who do not believe in Allah
will suffer the same fate."
The Abu Sayyaf group are still holding four women taken hostage at the same
time, including the wife of one of the murdered men.
The army has now launched a ground and air offensive on suspected Abu Sayyaf
positions around the town of Patikul, near where the group were taken
captive. Two freed
According to the authorities, the Abu Sayyaf seized eight people as they were
driving travelling in a jeep near Patikul on Tuesday.
Two of the men, who were Muslim, were soon freed, but the six Christians were
held.
Officials originally said that the two men and four women were selling
cosmetics door to door for the Avon company.
However, later reports suggest that this may have been a cover to allow the
Christians to engage in missionary work in a predominantly Muslim area.
The group came mainly from the city of Zamboanga, on the main southern
Philippine island of Mindanao.
The kidnapping was the first on the island since US troops began working with
the Philippine military to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf group.
The Abu Sayyaf group is best known for kidnapping for ransom, though the US
and Philippines governments have linked it to the al-Qaeda network.
Frequent kidnappings
The US sent more than 1,000 troops to the southern Philippines to train local
security forces for their campaign against the Abu Sayyaf, which last year
took dozens of people hostage, including three Americans.
The US believes the Abu Sayyaf has links to Osama Bin Laden
The US troops left the country last month.
The latest kidnapping took place on the island of Jolo, about 80 kilometres
(50 miles) south-west of Basilan.
The victims were travelling in a remote region when suspected Abu Sayyaf
gunmen stopped their vehicle.
They were made to get out and led away into a forest, the military said.
The Abu Sayyaf rebels on Jolo are reported to belong to a different faction
than those operating on Basilan island, and are believed to have suffered
less from recently military offensives.
