May 4, 2000,

May 4, 2000, Philippine Headline News, Abu Sayyaf Tortured, Killed Filipino Hostages,
May 4, 2000, Philippine Headline News, Tight Watch on for Terrorists From 9 Nations,
May 4, 2000, [06:42:00 ET] Reuters, Philippine rebels trying to escape with hostages,
May 4, 2000, [ 01:43:00 ET] Reuters Malaysia urges Manila to avoid force over hostages,
May 4, 2000, [19:30] AFP, Philippine Muslim militants split 21 hostages into five groups,
May 4, 2000, [19:15] AFP, Malaysia says Philippines promised not to step up attacks on kidnappers,
May 4, 2000, [19:11] AFP, West flinches as Philippines crushes hostage-takers,
May 4, 2000, [12:16] AFP, Philippines hostage island clash leaves one rebel dead,
May 4, 2000, [19:32] AFP, Philippines identifies Abu Sayyaf leaders holding 21 hostages,
May 4, 2000, [9:17] AFP, Ailing hostage 'could die' without medical attention: doctor,
May 4, 2000, [12:42] AFP, Philippine government negotiator in hostage crisis threatens to quit
May 4, 2000, [14:12PM] Bernama, Negotiators Trying to Re-Establish Contact with Kidnappers, by Abdul Muin Abdul Majid,
May 4, 2000, [ 11:38 a.m. HKT-03:38 GMT] CNN News, Philippines troops rescue 15 hostages, mostly children,

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May 4, 2000, Philippine Headline News, Abu Sayyaf Tortured, Killed Filipino Hostages,

Manila, May 4, 2000 - A kidnapped Roman Catholic priest was tortured and killed by his Abu Sayyaf captors, a military official revealed today.

Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said the hands of the priest, the Rev. Ruel Gallardo, were tied when he was shot in the back of the head Wednesday by escaping Abu Sayyaf rebels.

A priest who saw the bodies also said three teachers who died in the rescue attempt also were shot in the head at close range. At least two women had apparently been hacked on their bodies and arms, the Rev. Martin Jumoad said.

Nine children and six teachers were rescued by the soldiers, who stumbled across the Abu Sayyaf rebels as they were about to cross a river, and both sides opened fire.

Troops were pursuing the fleeing rebels today in hopes of rescuing the remaining hostages, Mercado said.

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May 4, 2000, Philippine Headline News, Tight Watch on for Terrorists From 9 Nations,

Manila, May 4, 2000 - Immigration officials yesterday ordered a tight watch on nationals of nine countries earlier identified in a United States government report as sponsors of international terrorism.

In a memorandum, Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Rufus Rodriguez ordered immigration officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the five other international airports, to strictly monitor the arrival of nationals and tourists from Libya, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Sudan, North Korea, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Rodriguez said the US State Department had earlier listed the nine countries as safe havens for terrorist groups. Except for Pakistan and Afghanistan, which are only recent additions to the list, these countries have been named in intelligence reports as providing arms, logistics, training, and financial support to extremist groups in the Middle East and Asia, he said.

The BI chief said latest reports from the US State Department have singled out South Asia as new focus of terrorism after the Middle East. The report also named Afghanistan as primary sanctuary for terrorist groups based in the region and pinned Pakistan for supporting extremist groups in Kashmir.

Suspicions that extremist rebels in Mindanao are receiving aid from foreign sponsors were fueled by military reports claiming the presence of "Arabs" inside the Maguindanao camps of the Moro International Liberation Front.

In April, airport police arrested at NAIA one Naef Menaor Famez, an Iraqi, who reportedly tried to sneak into the country using an altered Saudi Arabian passport. Authorities said Famez had come to Manila to meet with a certain Pandu Yudhawinata, an Indonesian said to be providing arms to the MILF rebels.

Rodriguez said Yudhawinata and a certain Abdesselem Boulanovar, an Algerian, were arrested in December on suspicions they were involved in terrorist activities in Mindanao. The BI chief said the two were released for lack of evidence.

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May 4, 2000, [06:42:00 ET] Reuters, Philippine rebels trying to escape with hostages,

JOLO, Philippines, May 4 (Reuters) - Islamic rebels have split their 21 mainly foreign hostages into small groups and are repeatedly trying to break through a cordon of troops around their jungle hideout, Philippines officials said on Thursday.

The Abu Sayyaf (Father of the Sword) rebels divided the hostages into five groups and each was trying to escape separately, leading to intermittent exchanges of fire, Defence Secretary Orlando Mercado told reporters.

But he said all 21 hostages were alive and still captive, discounting radio reports two may have escaped or that some may have died in fighting around the rebel stronghold on Jolo island in the southern Philippines, 960 km (600 miles) south of Manila.

In a separate hostage drama, another unit of the fundamentalist Abu Sayyaf unit sprayed gunfire on a group of Filipino captives, including a priest, after tying their hands behind their backs when they were surprised by a military patrol, officials said.

At least four of the 27 hostages -- schoolchildren, their teachers and the priest -- held by the guerrillas were killed on Wednesday on the island of Basilan, near Jolo. Fifteen survived, although five, including three children, were wounded.

Another eight to 10 hostages were unaccounted for.

ESCAPE REPORT DISPUTED

The report that two white men among 21 mainly foreign hostages kidnapped from a Malaysian resort on Easter Sunday had escaped came from DZMM radio station, but was quickly disputed.

"There is no truth to that... I have my men up there," provincial governor Abdusakur Tan said after the radio, quoting "informants," said the escape was made on Wednesday.

"I cannot confirm that," Defence Secretary Orlando Mercado told Reuters, when asked about the reported escape.

He later told reporters there was intermittent fighting in the area because of escape attempts.

"The incidents are a consequence of their being broken up into five groups... There was also an attempt to probe and get people out but they found that the cordon is relatively tight and we have reinforced the cordon."

Some 2,000 troops have spread around the hills in the interior of Jolo to cut off escape routes of the kidnappers.

A Reuters photographer said troops fired mortars every 30 minutes throughout the night but a senior military officer said there was no danger to the hostages.

"We controlled our firing so that we won't hit the house where the hostages are," said a frontline colonel.

The 21 hostages, brought to Jolo island from Malaysia's Sipadan diving resort, are 10 Malaysians, three Germans, two French nationals, two South Africans, two Finns, one Lebanese and a Filipina.

The Abu Sayyaf is one of two groups fighting for an Islamic state in the south of the mainly Catholic Philippines. The other larger group is the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

OTHER CAPTIVES SHOT AFTER BEING BOUND

On nearby Basilan island, the military said four Filipino hostages among a group kidnapped 45 days earlier were executed by their captors as troops closed in on their hideout on Wednesday.

"They sprayed them with gunfire before (the other hostages) started running," southern military commander General Diomedio Villanueva said, adding that many of the victims were bound before being killed.

Police said the victims had been attacked with scythes and then shot.

"We will not be satisfied until those devils, the Abu Sayyaf, are killed," Leoncia Democrito, the pregnant wife of one those killed, told a Reuters photographer, weeping over his coffin in a Basilan cathedral.

The Filipinos were abducted from two Basilan schools and had been held for 45 days. Colleagues of Father Ruel Gallardo said the 34-year-old priest was tortured during the captivity, his nails pulled out and suffering
daily beatings.

WAVE OF VIOLENCE

On the main Mindanao island, where the MILF unleashed a wave of violence on Wednesday, there was only sporadic fighting in at least two areas on Thursday, military reports said.

But Manila's main stock index closed almost 2.5 percent down at an 18-month low of 1,553.34 points because of fears the violence may resume and could spread.

An army spokesman said MILF rebels who seized portions of two major Mindanao highways on Wednesday had withdrawn, although sections of the roads remained closed while troops conducted mopping up operations.

Military and radio reports said at least 35 people died on Wednesday when the MILF clashed with government troops in five places, launched grenades at an airport and exploded bombs in the major seaport town of General Santos.

One of the bombs damaged a power plant, plunging a third of General Santos into darkness on Wednesday night.

The MILF also took about 100 hostages during the fighting but troops managed to escort the captives out of danger after the rebels withdrew overnight, officials said.

The violence wracking the southern Philippines is the worst in the country since Moslem separatists agreed to a peace deal with the government in 1996.

The Abu Sayyaf and MILF rejected the agreement and continue their decades-long fight for Moslem self-rule in Mindanao, home to most of the five million Moslems in the country's 74 million population. --ABC

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May 4, 2000, [ 01:43:00 ET] Reuters Malaysia urges Manila to avoid force over hostages,

KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 (Reuters) - Malaysia urged the Philippines on Thursday to avoid using force to free hostages held by rebels, increasing foreign pressure on Manila to shun a military solution to the crisis.

"We always put a priority to negotiations as using military force can lead to a more difficult situation," Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told reporters in the capital.

Ten Malaysians were among 21 hostages seized by Abu Sayyaf guerrillas on April 23 and taken by boats to the southern Philippines. Abu Sayyaf is one of two groups fighting for an Islamic state in the predominately Catholic Philippines.

There are also three Germans, two French, two South Africans, two Finns, one Lebanese and a Filipino.

At least two hostages were wounded during a five-hour gunbattle between government troops and rebels on Tuesday night, according to the chief negotiator seeking their release.

A local Philippine radio station reported on Thursday that two white men among the hostages had escaped on Wednesday from their captors. Defence Secretary Orlando Mercado said he could not immediately confirm the report.

CALLS FOR RESTRAINT

Malaysia and several other governments have called for restraint on the part of Philippine troops near the hostage site.

The Philippines has said it is committed to negotiations but will not rule out the possibility of using force.

Malaysian Defence Minister Najib Razak said on Wednesday that Manila should give priority to the safety of hostages.

"It is important that no action be taken that can later derail the negotiation efforts," Abdullah said on Wednesday.

"The most important thing now is to start negotiation to secure their release."

A Malaysian minister said Philippine President Joseph Estrada had assured him in a meeting in Manila on Wednesday that the government would take into account the views of the foreign nations.

"No time frame as to when the problem can be resolved was given but the assurance given was that the Philippine government will consider the views of every nation involved," the official Bernama news agency quoted Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Pandikar Amin Mulia as saying.

URGING CAUTION

Estrada told German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in a telephone call on Wednesday that the safety of the hostages would remain a top priority.

"We are relying on the assurances of the Philippine government that force will not be used," German government spokesman Uwe-Karsten Heye said.

"Violence would be fraught with risks for the hostages. That is not acceptable for us."

Finland called on Tuesday for a safe end to the hostage crisis.

"Finland is confident that the government of the Philippines endeavours to solve the hostage crisis in a way that does not put the safety of the hostages in jeopardy," Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen wrote in a message to Estrada, the foreign ministry said.

Last week France urged the Philippines to exercise extreme caution in trying to free them.

"We have cautioned these authorities against the temptation to rescue the hostages by force in a manner which might compromise their security," foreign ministry spokeswoman Anne Gazeau-Secret said. --ABC

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May 4, 2000, [19:30] AFP, Philippine Muslim militants split 21 hostages into five groups,

MANILA, May 4 (AFP) - 19:30 - Muslim extremists holding 21 mostly foreign hostages in the southern Philippines have divided the captives into five groups to confuse the military, Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said Thursday.

Mercado said based on military feedback, the alleged leader of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremist group, Mujib Susukan, and three of his men took four hostages each while another guerilla took five hostages.

He said all the hostages were being held within the general vicinity of a hut in Talipao town in Jolo island where they were previously stashed and where they met with reporters earlier this week.

Provincial police chief Superintendent Candido Casimiro said the Abu Sayyaf were "trying to divide the attention of the military."

Concern for the hostages has increased after a series of clashes between the kidnappers and soldiers surrounding their hideout. Troops on Wednesday, were able to enter the hut where the hostages were earlier kept but found it empty.

Mercado also said that earlier statements by the kidnappers that two of the hostages had been killed or escaped, "from our checking, is not true.

"We do not have any informational confirmation of such stories," he said.

Nine Malaysians, a German family of three, two French nationals, two Finnish men, a South African couple and a Lebanese woman, along with two Filipinos, were taken from the Malaysian island resort of Sipadan off Borneo on Easter Sunday and taken across the sea border to Jolo. --AFP

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May 4, 2000, [19:15] AFP, Malaysia says Philippines promised not to step up attacks on kidnappers,

KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 (AFP) - 19:15 - Philippine President Joseph Estrada has promised a visiting Malaysian delegation that his troops will not step up military action against Muslim kidnappers, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Thursday.

"President Estrada gave an assurance they will give their best and won't intensify their military action," Mahathir told a press conference.

Malaysia and other governments whose nationals are being held by Abu Sayyaf rebels are urging negotiations rather than force to free the 21 captives on Jolo island in the southern Philippines.

The Philippine military announced its troops had clashed with the rebels late Wednesday, wounding one of their leaders.

An Abu Sayyaf spokesman said earlier two hostages died during an exchange of fire with troops Tuesday afternoon but officials discounted the claim.

The 12 foreigners and nine Malaysians were seized April 23 from the Malaysian diving resort island of Sipadan off Borneo and taken by boat to Jolo. Kidnappers have still not presented any demands.

A Malaysian delegation headed by Pandikar Amin Mulia, a minister in the prime minister's department, left Tuesday for Manila for talks with Estrada and his ministers.

The team travelled Thursday to the southern city of Zamboanga to meet government negotiator Nur Misuari, who has threatened to quit unless the army pulls back from the rebel camp.

Pandikar, quoted by the official Bernama news agency in Zamboanga, expressed confidence in Misuari.

"His efforts are correct. He is sincere and we have no reason to doubt all the information that he had given us so far," he said.

Pandikar said he was made to understood that all 21 hostages were still alive. The Malaysians were due home Thursday night. --AFP

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May 4, 2000, [19:11] AFP, West flinches as Philippines crushes hostage-takers,

MANILA, May 4 (AFP) - 19:11 - As the Philippines takes an iron-fist approach to crush Islamic extremism, western governments watch and flinch with the lives of 31 hostages, most of them foreigners, on the line.

Ruthless force was employed against Abu Sayyaf guerrillas on Basilan island this week, where a commando-style military operation rescued 15 of 29 Filipino hostages but also led to 18 deaths including four captives after a week-long siege.

The military display was a warning to a second band of Abu Sayyaf guerrillas holding 21 tourists and resort workers on the neighboring southern island of Jolo.

"We had to nip it in the bud," Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said of the operation -- which brought a procession of foreign diplomats to Manila and telephone calls from world leaders to President Joseph Estrada expressing concern over the safety of their nationals.

"Some say we should stop military operations against terrorists for fear of driving away investors," Estrada said on Monday.

"I say that if we do nothing to stop terrorists, no investor will ever think of coming or staying in the first place."

The three Germans, two French, two Finns, two South Africans, nine Malaysians, two Filipinos and a Lebanese held hostage on Jolo were snatched from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan off Borneo on Easter Sunday.

Another 10 Filipino hostages remain unaccounted for on Basilan.

Military intelligence sources say Manila is wary of becoming a "safe haven" for international Islamic guerrilla groups, the way its military ally the United States has portrayed countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan.

According to military reports, the 1,000-member Abu Sayyaf, linked to a failed 1995 plot to assassinate Pope John Paul, has extensive ties with terrorist cells funded by Osama bin Laden, including one led by Ramzi Yousef now jailed in the US over the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York.

Suspected terrorist leader bin Laden is accused of plotting the 1998 US embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya that killed 224 people and remains one of the most wanted men in the United States.

Philippine armed forces chief General Angelo Reyes said the Basilan assault had the blessings of the island's Roman Catholic Bishop Romulo de la Cruz. One of his priests, Roel Gallardo, was among those slaughtered by the retreating rebels.

"The bishop told us it would be better to risk an operation with a chance for success rather than allow the hostages to be killed one by one," Reyes said.

Mercado said "80 percent of the strength of the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan had been neutralized."

Removing their capacity to commit "random acts of terror" would staunch the flow of funds from bin Laden, and "eventually, they will lose the capacity for self-perpetration, disappear into the mist and convert to other lives," said University of the Philippines political science professor Alex Magno.

"It is a group that can only be tamed by the superior force of arms."

But such talk made other governments nervous.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and the Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen called Estrada on Wednesday while French President Jacques Chirac sent a letter to impress on the Filipino leader the primacy of protecting the Jolo hostages' lives.

Manila had rejected their suggestion to pull back a military cordon around the rebel camp, saying it would allow the kidnappers to escape with their captives.

Doing so would be "putting the lives of these hostages in greater danger," Mercado insisted.

On one issue the hostaged governments were in agreement -- that striking separate deals with the gunmen would be suicidal.

"The moment they negotiate individually, the ransom demand would go up," Filipino Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon said. --AFP

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May 4, 2000, [19:32] AFP, Philippines identifies Abu Sayyaf leaders holding 21 hostages

MANILA, May 4 (AFP) - 19:32 - The Philippine government on Thursday released the names of five leaders of the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group holding 21 mostly foreign hostages in the southern Philippines.

Defence Secretary Orlando Mercado told a media briefing that each of the Abu Sayyaf leaders was holding four to five hostages.

They split up after clashes with the military which had cordoned off their jungle hideout in Jolo island.

The hostages comprise nine Malaysians, a German family of three, two French nationals, two Finnish men, a South African couple and a Lebanese woman, along with two Filipinos.

They were taken to Jolo from the Malaysian island resort of Sipadan off Borneo on Easter Sunday.

Mercado identified the Abu Sayyaf leaders holding the hostages as:

-- Mujib Susukan, the leader of the Muslim extremist group in Jolo. Mercado said he had been slightly injured in a firefight with government troops on Wednesday, but denied reports he had been killed.

Police and military reports say he was active in a kidnapping-for-ransom racket in the southern Philippines for years before becoming affiliated with the Abu Sayyaf. He was involved in the abduction of three foreign nuns in the early 1990s.

-- Ghalib Andang, also known as Commander Robot, a former member of the Philippines' main Muslim separatist group, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). He left the group in the early 1980s when MNLF chairman Nur Misuari began negotiating for peace with the government.

Andang turned to banditry, including kidnapping for ransom, and joined the Abu Sayyaf in the late 1980s. He was blamed for the 1998 abduction of two Hong Kong men and a Malaysian. The three were released after an undisclosed ransom was paid.

-- "Doctor Abu," also known as Abdin Jundain. He provides first aid to the Abu Sayyaf members when they are injured.

-- Sajid Hayudini, also known as Suaid Hayudini. He is suspected of being behind the killing of the Roman Catholic bishop of Jolo, Benjamin de Jesus, in

-- Radullan Sahiron, believed by the police and the military to have taken part in the attack on the largely Christian town of Ipil in 1995 where more than 50 people were killed.

He is also believed to have worked with Andang in the abduction of the two Hong Kong men and the Malaysian fishery worker. --AFP

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May 4, 2000, [12:16] AFP, Philippines hostage island clash leaves one rebel dead,

MANILA, May 4 (AFP) - 12:16 - Philippine troops clashed with Muslim extremists holding 21 mostly foreign hostages in the southern Philippines late Wednesday, leaving one rebel leader dead, a military spokesman said here Thursday.

There was no indication on the condition of the captives after the brief clash, which occurred shortly before midnight (1600 GMT), Colonel Rafael Romero told reporters.

He said government forces returned fire when the Abu Sayyaf gunmen attempted to break through a military cordon around their jungle camp in the southern island of Jolo.

Galib Mujid was killed in the firefight, Romero said, naiming the rebel leader as the chief custodian of the hostages from Malaysia, Germany, France, Finland, South Africa, Lebanon and the Philippines.

The hostages were taken from the Malaysian resort of Sipadan on April 23.

The clash was the second around the Abu Sayyaf camp since Tuesday. The earlier fighting forced the rebels to move their hostages to another hideout about a kilometer (0.62 miles) away from their first camp, according to Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado.

Philippine officials have pledged to diplomats from the captives' countries that the soldiers were just there to prevent the escape of the kidnappers, and they were not currently contemplating a rescue attempt. --AFP

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May 4, 2000, [14:12PM] Bernama, Negotiators Trying to Re-Establish Contact with Kidnappers, by Abdul Muin Abdul Majid,

ZAMBOANGA CITY, May 4 (Bernama) -- The Philippine government chief negotiator Nur Misuari said he is trying to re-establish contact with kidnappers of the 21 people of various nationalities from Malaysia's Sipadan Island last fortnight.

He said contact with the abductors, who were then holed up on Jolo island in southern Philippines, was interrupted following clashes between the group and government forces.

Misuari, who is governor ot Muslim Mindanao Autonomous Region, was speaking at a luncheon in honour of a Malaysian delegation visiting the city Thursday.

While the present whereabouts of the captives could not be ascertained at the moment, Misuari said re-establishing contact with their kidnappers was vital to facilitate formal talks with them.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Pandikar Amin Mulia is leading the Malaysian delegation to continue monitoring efforts from here to secure the release of the captives.

Misuari said his emissary Abdul Rahman Jamsali, who is in Jolo Island at the moment, would try to re-establish personal contact with the kidnappers believed to be holding up their captives in the mountains there.

He said Abdul Rahman had also been instructed to check the latest information and the kidnappers' demands.

Ten of the captives are Malaysians and the rest include Germans, South Africans, Finns and French nationals.

Accompanying Pandikar Amin are Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal, Malaysian ambassador to the Philippines Mohamed Arshad M. Hussain, Chief of Defence Forces Tan Sri Mohamed Zahidi Zainuddin and South Africa's High Commissioner to Malaysia Lindiwe Mabuza. -- BERNAMA

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May 4, 2000, [9:17] AFP, Ailing hostage 'could die' without medical attention: doctor,

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, May 4 (AFP) - 9:17 - One of the 21 mostly foreign hostages being held by Muslim extremists in a southern Philippines jungle is severely ill and "could die" without medical attention, a government doctor said Thursday.

Provincial health officer Yuda Lim set off on a mercy mission to a jungle hideout of the Abu Sayyaf on Jolo island Thursday morning, saying she would appeal to the kidnappers to free all their ailing captives.

"One of the victims has a cardio-pulmonary disease. The hostage could die if not given medical attention," Lim said without naming the hostage or their nationality.

Another government doctor who visited the captives on Monday said a German and a French hostage needed immediate medical evacuation to the Jolo provincial hospital.

Nine Malaysians, a German family of three, two French nationals, two Finns, a South African couple, two Filipinos and a Lebanese woman were snatched from the Malaysian island resort of Sipadan on April 23.

They were taken across the sea border by boat to Jolo and held in dire conditions in a bamboo hut until early this week, when a clash with government forces who surrounded their camp forced the gunmen to move them elsewhere.

Lim, interviewed by Radio Mindanao Network, said she would appeal to the kidnappers on "humanitarian reasons the release of sick hostages so they could be brought to hospital." --AFP

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May 4, 2000, [12:42] AFP, Philippine government negotiator in hostage crisis threatens to quit

JOLO, Philippines, May 4 (AFP) - 12:42 - The negotiator attempting to secure the release of 21 mostly foreign hostages here threatened to quit Thursday unless the military lifted its siege of the Muslim militants holding them.

Nur Misuari's warning came as the military announced that its troops had clashed with Abu Sayyaf gunmen late Wednesday, leaving one of group's leaders dead.

Misuari, a former rebel leader appointed as an intermediary by the Philippine government, told local television he would stop trying to negotiate the release of the hostages if the government did not stop military operations in the Talipao area of Jolo island, where the captives are being held.

Nine Malaysians, a German family of three, two French nationals, two Finnish men, a South African couple and a Lebanese woman, along with two Filipinos, were taken from the Malaysian island resort of Sipadan off Borneo on Easter Sunday.

There was no indication on the condition of the captives after the brief clash which occurred shortly before midnight (1600 GMT), Colonel Rafael Romero told reporters.

Government forces returned fire when the Abu Sayyaf gunmen attempted to break out from a military cordon around their jungle camp, he said.

The rebel leader Galib Mujid, the chief custodian of the hostages was killed in the firefight, Romero said.

The clash was the second around the Abu Sayyaf camp since Tuesday. The earlier fighting forced the rebels to move their hostages to another hideout about a kilometer (0.62 miles) away from their previous camp, according to Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado.

The gunbattle also reportedly left two foreign hostages dead, and raised international concern.

Philippine officials have pledged to diplomats from the governments of the captives that the soldiers are just there to prevent the escape of the kidnappers and that the military was not contemplating a rescue attempt.

No hostage deaths have been confirmed, they added.

Misuari said he hoped the military would heed his request to hold off to allow negotiations to be held.

He warned the militants were better armed and far more dangerous than another Abu Sayyaf unit that had been holding up to 29 Filipino hostages, 22 of them children, on Basilan island, north of Jolo, since March 20.

At least four of those hostages were killed Wednesday after that unit opened fire on troops trying to mount a rescue operation.

Fifteen of the captives were freed, including five with gunshot or other wounds, according to the military, which said one of the four recovered bodies was that of a Roman Catholic priest.

There was no immediate word on the fate of the other 10.

The fate of the 21 mostly foreign hostages remained uncertain Thursday.

Some reports suggested that they might also have been wounded in clashes between government troops and their captors.

A government doctor said one of the hostages was severely ill and "could die" without medical attention.

Provincial health officer Yuda Lim set off on a mercy mission to Abu Sayyaf camp Thursday morning, saying she would appeal to the kidnappers to free all their ailing captives.

"One of the victims has a cardio-pulmonary disease. The hostage could die if not given medical attention," Lim said without giving the hostage's name or nationality.

Another government doctor who visited the captives on Monday said a German and a French hostage needed immediate medical evacuation to hospital.

Provincial police director Candido Casimoro said he had been informed that the other group of Abu Sayyaf rebels on neighbouring Basilan had landed on the shores of Patikul town here. --AFP

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May 4, 2000, [11:38 a.m. HKT (0338 GMT)] CNN News, Philippines troops rescue 15 hostages, mostly children,

Rebels claim two captives killed from second group,

ISABELA, Philippines (CNN) -- Philippines Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said Wednesday that 15 hostages, held on Basilan Island by Muslim rebels, had been rescued by government troops.

Most of those freed were among the 22 children taken from two schools on March 20. The fleeing kidnappers killed four more hostages, Mercado said.

A spokesman for the Abu Sayyaf Muslim separatist group said 10 hostages remained with him, casting some doubt on the rebels' claim to have earlier beheaded two hostages. The rebels originally took 29 hostages; all are now reportedly accounted for.

Mercado said the 15 hostages were freed when government troops discovered them as they were being moved across a stream by their captors.

Government checking reports of hostages' deaths

Abu Sayyaf separatists holding 21 hostages on nearby Jolo Island, in the southern Philippines, told local radio that two hostages died during a battle between rebels and government forces.

The claim could not be independently confirmed, but the government said it was checking into the report.

After seizing the bamboo hut where the hostages had been held and finding no one, the government said it believed the hostages had been moved to a location about a mile away.

A rebel spokesman early Wednesday called local radio, asking for a doctor -- but later called back, claiming two hostages were dead.

The spokesman claimed one man was killed by a stray gunshot during the firefight and that a woman died of a heart attack.

The group of 21 hostages includes 10 tourists from Germany, France, South Africa, Finland and Lebanon. The remaining hostages are said to be resort workers from the Philippines and Malaysia.

The 21 hostages were kidnapped Easter Sunday on the Malaysian island of Sipadan, a noted diving resort. They were shown in a videotape shot over the weekend huddled in a small bamboo hut.

Military officials said at least one government soldier was killed during the fighting between rebels and troops trying to recover the hostages on Jolo.

Larger Muslim group attacks southern cities

Meanwhile, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) -- the larger of the two groups fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines -- claimed responsibility for several explosions in four southern cities. At least four people died in the blasts Wednesday. Dozens were injured.

The MILF suspended peace talks with the Philippine government on Sunday, threatening to attack southern cities if the military did not pull back from the area surrounding its Maguindanao headquarters, Camp Abubakar.

Troops moved into the area on Friday, launching air and ground attacks against hundreds of guerrillas who were allegedly blocking a road on Camp Abubakar's western boundary and extorting money from drivers.

The rebels attacked the army's Camp Tiangco and the Awang airport in Sinsuat on Wednesday, military officials said.