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U.S. hostage beheaded, rebels say
©Associated Press
© St. Petersburg Times, ZAMBOANGA, Philippines -- Muslim rebels claimed today that they had killed an American hostage, one of more than two dozen people they are holding in the southern Philippine jungles. The military was skeptical. Abu Sabaya, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf rebels, said on the Radio Mindanao Network that his group had beheaded Guillermo Sobero of Corona, Calif. Sabaya had threatened to execute one of three Americans he holds at noon Monday. He relented after the Philippine government agreed to his demand to call in a Malaysian negotiator. But Sabaya said today the threat was carried out anyway because he thought the government was insincere. "We could see that they were fooling us around," he said in the radio broadcast. Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan, a military spokesman, stressed the claim hadn't been confirmed. "We have to verify this information and confirm, because you know, in the past Sabaya has said things like this and didn't mean it," Adan said. Sobero's younger brother, Alberto, said U.S. officials told him the report was unverified. "I'm still hoping this is not true," the Cathedral City, Calif., resident said. "I ask the Philippine government to exhaust all efforts and continue a dialogue to get my brother back, and all the hostages." He added that only the oldest of Guillermo Sobero's four children, a 13-year-old daughter, knows that their father has been kidnapped. Last year, the rebels seized several hostages and executed Philippine citizens. This is the first time they claimed to have killed a foreigner. In his radio comments, Sabaya also threatened to kill other hostages. His group holds at least 25 Filipinos and two other Americans, missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham from Kansas. "We chopped the head of Guillermo Sobero," Sabaya told Radio Mindanao Network. "They better hurry the rescue, otherwise there will be no hostages left." He said the killing occurred near the town of Tuburan and told the military: "Find his body." On Monday, the rebels stormed a coconut and coffee plantation on southern Basilan island, burning down five houses and a chapel, then fled with 15 more hostages to go with the 13 people were already holding, the army said. Among the new hostages are two 12-year-olds. Sabaya demanded that former Malaysian Sen. Sairin Karno join the negotiating team. Karno helped mediate last year's kidnapping crisis, in which millions of dollars in ransom was reportedly paid to secure hostages' release. The military has said no ransom will be paid this time. The rebels used the money last year to buy arms and speedboats used in the May 27 abduction of tourists, including the Americans, from a beach resort across the Sulu Sea. The government estimates the Abu Sayyaf has about 1,100 fighters in the southern islands. The group says it is fighting to carve out an independent Islamic state from the southern Philippines, but the government says its members are simply bandits.
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From the Times wire desk David Adams Eric Deggans
From the AP |
