Civilians Kill 3 Philippine Rebels
By JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press Writer
JOLO, Philippines (AP) - The
mutilated bodies of three Muslim guerrillas - including a prominent commander - were
dumped Wednesday at a police station on a southern Philippine island where thousands of
troops are looking for 17 hostages, officials said.
The three members of Abu Sayyaf
were killed by frightened villagers in Lapa, where a group of the rebels tried to hide on
Tuesday from pursuing troops, witnesses said. But the villagers resisted and there was a
fight. The three and another three villagers were killed and the rest of the rebels
escaped, the witnesses said.
Hundreds of Abu Sayyaf rebels
have fled through the jungles of Jolo island with their hostages since Sept. 16. That's
when the Philippine government launched an assault meant to free the captives: one
American, three Malaysians and 13 Filipinos.
More than 60,000 people on Jolo
have fled their homes since the raid began, local officials said, because of aerial
bombardments and fear of rebels.
``We fled to that village
because of the bombing of our own village,'' said Langka Dahim. ``If there are Abu Sayyaf
rebels there, we will be bombed again.''
The military insists only two
civilians have been killed and four injured in the attack, but unconfirmed reports
continue to mount of much higher casualties and extensive damage to villages.
The three dead rebels included
Hibib Sabtal Arola, who participated in the kidnapping of 21 tourists and workers from a
Malaysian diving resort on April 23, officials said. Their bodies, apparently mutilated by
the villagers, were dumped by soldiers outside the police station to be claimed by
relatives.
``It's also a warning,'' said
Police Chief Mohamad Alamia. ``People will know that people who do bad things end up like
that.''
The Abu Sayyaf rebels have
kidnapped scores of hostages since March. Most have been released after millions of
dollars in ransom payments by Libya and Malaysia, negotiators say.
President Joseph Estrada has
ordered the military to look into reports of human rights abuses during the attack, the
presidential palace said Wednesday.
Jolo Congressman Hussin Amin
said Wednesday he had received a letter from a local leader complaining that soldiers had
stolen large amounts of property from a mosque and from the homes of villagers.
The Abu Sayyaf are the smaller
of two rebel groups fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines,
home of the predominantly Christian country's Muslim minority.
Also Wednesday, the Malaysian
military said it is training hundreds of soldiers guarding resort islands off Borneo on
how to combat armed kidnappers. The decision came after two raids by Abu Sayyaf rebels
from the southern Philippines on two separate Malaysian diving resorts.
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