Abu Sayyaf gunmen in Philippines kill 2 villagers after slaying 3 hostages

Philippine militants kill 2 more villagers

MANILA, Philippines — Muslim militants killed two villagers after fatally shooting three hostages, apparently to avenge the deaths of comrades in a government assault in the southern Philippines, a military commander said Sunday.

The bodies of the hostages and the villagers were found separately Saturday by residents in a mountainous hinterland near Sumisip township on Basilan island, where the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group has long been blamed for kidnappings, bombings and other attacks, Rear Adm. Alex Pama said.

Despite years of U.S.-backed offensives, nearly 400 Abu Sayyaf fighters have survived in Basilan and on nearby Jolo island and the Zamboanga peninsula. They remain a major security concern as part of a decades-long Muslim insurgency.

The Abu Sayyaf, founded in Basilan in 1991, is believed by U.S. and Philippine security officials to have received funds and training from Osama bin Laden’s network.

The hostages — all rubber farm workers — were kidnapped by the militants on May 27. Their bullet-riddled bodies were found near Sumisip after their families failed to pay a ransom, Basilan military commander Brig. Gen. Eugenio Clement said.

Pama said the same group of gunmen, led by wanted militants Puruji Indama and Pasil Bayali, opened fire on three villagers in a nearby mountain community, killing two and wounding one who managed to run to safety.

The killings, which took place Friday, may have been in revenge for the deaths of three Abu Sayyaf fighters, including two relatives of Bayali, in a clash with elite army Scout Rangers in Sumisip earlier that day, Pama told The Associated Press.

He said the wounded villager told military officials that he and his companions went out to retrieve their water buffalo from a mountain farm when they met the Abu Sayyaf gunmen, who opened fire without provocation.

“They were seething with anger,” Pama said, adding troops have been deployed to secure a number of Sumisip communities that could come under attack.

Government troops have mounted an offensive in and around Sumisip in Basilan, a predominantly Muslim island about 550 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila, amid intelligence reports that a number of militants allied with the Southeast Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiyah have taken refuge in Abu Sayyaf encampments.

Among the militants is Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, a U.S.-trained Malaysian engineer accused by Philippine authorities of involvement in a number of deadly bombings in the Philippines.

The United States has offered a $5 million reward for Marwan’s capture.