Posted on 06/23/2002 8:29:03 PM PDT by HAL9000
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Abu Sabaya ordered his men to shoot dead American hostage Martin Burnham if soldiers got too close, a captured Abu Sayyaf bandit was quoted on Sunday as saying.
Toto Aluk, also known as "Ayub," was shown on videotape taken by the military saying that Sabaya, the Abu Sayyaf spokesperson who was believed killed in a gun battle on Friday, issued the order to kill Martin Burnham.
The US missionary, who was seized at Palawan’s Dos Palmas Resort and held hostage for about a year, was killed in a military rescue operation in Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte, on June 7.
The military questioned Aluk and two of Abu Sabaya’s followers after capturing them in the clash off Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte, that supposedly resulted in Abu Sabaya’s death.
The military released on Sunday videotape of Aluk being interrogated.
On the videotape, Aluk said Sabaya ordered another Abu Sayyaf bandit, Abu Lukman, to kill Burnham if soldiers launched a raid.
"If the soldiers open fire and come close, you should kill Martin," Aluk quoted Abu Sabaya as telling Lukman.
"Nang mamatay na si Martin, tumakbo na kami (When Martin died, we ran away)," Aluk added.
The captured bandit did not say on the videotape that he saw who shot Burnham.
The military earlier said that Lukman likely killed the American missionary before being killed himself.
The videotape also showed the bound Aluk describing how Sabaya was killed in the Sibuco battle. He also identified Abu Sabaya’s personal effects, including his Oakley sunglasses and cell phone.
Burnham, an American missionary, and Edibora Yap, a Filipino nurse, were killed when Philippine troops tried to rescue them in Zamboanga del Norte on June 7. Burnham’s wife, Gracia, was rescued.
There have been concerns that Martin Burnham and Yap were shot in the exchange of gunfire between Abu Sabaya’s group and approaching soldiers.
But US officials earlier stressed that it was irrelevant who shot Burnham and that they held the Abu Sayyaf responsible for his death.
Maj. Gen. Ernesto Carolina, chief of the Southern Command, said Aluk’s admission had reassured his forces.
"We are convinced that the bullets that hit Martin and Edibora did not come from the muzzles of our guns," he said.
The Burnhams and Yap were the last remaining hostages of the Abu Sayyaf’s last kidnapping spree that began in May 2001.
With the loss of the hostages, the military intensified its pursuit of Abu Sabaya’s band, culminating in a gunfight at sea on Friday in which the military said Sabaya was shot and fell into the water.
The military is still searching for the remains of Sabaya, in the waters off Zamboanga del Norte to fully confirm his death.
However the military said that three Abu Sayyaf members captured in the sea battle confirmed that Sabaya was killed.
US troops deployed in Mindanao to help the anti-terror campaign, provided technical and surveillance assistance leading to the clash that claimed Sabaya’s life but US soldiers did not take part in the actual combat.
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