Armed Forces chief confirms 2 hostages dead, 1 rescued
Posted: 5:45 PM (Manila Time) | Jun. 07, 2002
INQ7.net and Agence France-Presse
ZAMBOANGA – US hostage Martin Burnham and Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap were killed but Burnham's wife, Gracia, was freed in a rescue attempt by the Philippine military on Friday, Armed Forces chief Gen. Roy Cimatu confirmed on Friday.
"He is dead," Cimatu told reporters, referring to Christian missionary Martin Burnham. His wife, Gracia Burnham, "is in hospital," he added. The US couple from Kansas were kidnapped in an Abu Sayaf raid on a Philippine tourist resort in May 2001.
Ediborah Yap, a Filipina nurse, was also killed in the rescue attempt at 2:30PM Friday in the jungles of Zamboanga del Norte, Cimatu added.
Gracia Burnham was hit in the leg and is currently under treatment at the Armed Forces Southern Command hospital.
The rescue attempt, part of a planned military operation, was mounted in the early afternoon near the town of Siraway on Mindanao island's Zamboanga peninsula. Seven government troops were killed in the encounter.
Sporadic hostilities are still ongoing, Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya said in a television interview.
Abaya said government troops recovered the "three victims" from the encounter, and found Martin Burnham dead, and Gracia Burnham and Ediborah Yap wounded. Yap later expired while being treated at the hospital, Abaya said.
The Philippine military believes that for most of their ordeal, the Burnhams were held hostage on the nearby southern island of Basilan, where US troops are helping to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf rebels.
AFP: Hostage Gracia Burnham garbed in military fatigues
Brig. Gen. Eduardo Purificacion, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, told journalists Friday afternoon that reports from the field indicated Abu Sayyaf hostage Gracia Burnham, who was wounded on the right leg in the crossfire between her captors and pursuing Army Scout Rangers, was dressed in military fatigues.
This was apparently a ploy by the bandits to make it difficult for the government troops to differentiate the hostages from the bandits.
Gracia's husband, Martin, and fellow hostage Ediborah Yap died in the encounter which started at 2:30 p.m. in the wooded border area between Sirawai and Sibuco in Zamboanga del Norte.
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Arroyo grieves over death of Burnham, Yap
President Gloria Arroyo expressed grief upon learning of the death of Abu Sayyaf captives Martin Burnham and Ediborah Yap during a military encounter with the bandits in Zamboanga del Norte province Friday afternoon.
"I am deeply saddened over the death of Martin Burnham, and one of our very own, Ediborah Yap after more than a year in captivity. I commiserate with the Burnham and Yap families," Arroyo said in a statement issued from Malacañang.
Military reports said the incident occurred about 2:30 p.m. in the boundaries of Sirawai and Sibuco municipalities.
A third hostage, Martin's spouse Gracia, sustained a bullet wound in the right leg. She was airlifted to the Southern Command hospital in Zamboanga City.
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7 soldiers hurt so far in Zambo Norte clash vs ASG
Gen. Narciso Abaya, Armed Forces of the Philippines Deputy Chief of Staff, said initial field reports said seven Scout Rangers were wounded during the encounter with Abu Sayyaf bandits in Zamboanga del Norte, which resulted in the death of two hostages, American Martin Burnham and Filipinas nurse Ediborah Yap.
Abaya said the identities of the wounded troops were unavailable as the firefight was still ongoing.
A third hostage, Martin's wife Gracia, sustained a bullet wound in the right leg. She was airlifted to the Southern Command hospital in Zamboanga City.
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