Philippine Military Attacks Rebels
By PAT ROQUE, Associated Press Writer
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) -
Military planes and helicopters pounded the hills of southern Jolo island Saturday where
Muslim rebels are holding 19 foreign and Filipino hostages.
Thousands of troops and elite
police arrived on ships to join the rescue attempt. People stood in the streets of Jolo's
capital watching the attack in the distance.
On Friday night, the military
ordered all boats to leave the capital's port to clear the way for the arrival of military
ships.
Support for an assault has
grown since last Sunday, when an Abu Sayyaf faction abducted three more people from a
Malaysian diving resort despite their earlier pledge not to seize more hostages while
negotiations are under way.
On Thursday, a rebel spokesman
threatened they would attack southern Philippine cities if there is a military assault.
The status of the hostages was
not immediately clear.
On Friday, the Abu Sayyaf
rebels had tentatively agreed to release two French television journalists on Saturday.
The rebels are holding three
Malaysians, one Filipino captured in April, the two French journalists, an American
Muslim, and 12 Filipino Christian evangelists. The rebels claim they are fighting for an
independent Islamic state in the impoverished southern Philippines.
Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary
William Cohen said Friday that the United States hoped the hostages could be released
peacefully, but that a decision on whether to use force was up to the Philippines.
Negotiations for the remaining
hostages had been suspended because of fighting among Abu Sayyaf factions over the
division of the ransom money. Negotiators say about $15 million in ransom has been paid so
far, about $10 million of it by Libya.
Last week, rebels ambushed two
government emissaries who came to fetch four other hostages. The emissaries survived
unhurt.
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