Martin Burnham executed: ground commander
NO US TROOPS INVOLVED
Posted: 5:50 PM (Manila Time) | Jun. 07, 2002
Agence France-Presse
ZAMBOANGA – US hostage Martin Burnham was murdered by Abu Sayyaf guerrillas during a surprise military rescue attempt in the southern Philippines on Friday, the army commander on the ground told Agence France-Presse.
Burnham and Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap were killed and Burnham's wife Gracia was wounded but freed in the raid near the town of Siraway, according to officials. Kansas native Martin Burnham, 42, "was executed by the Abu Sayyaf rebels" when they realized that a rescue attempt was underway, Army Scout Rangers Col. Renato Padua said.
Gracia Burnham was "grazed by a bullet," he said without elaborating.
There was no mention of how Yap was killed.
Four Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed and seven soldiers were wounded in the firefight, which continued in the mountainous area into late afternoon, Padua added by telephone.
"This is a close-quarter battle," he said. "No American troops are involved here."
Over the past four months, 1,000 US military advisers have been training Filipino troops going after the Abu Sayyaf, a band of Muslim guerrillas with reputed links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
American chopper sighted at scene of ASG firefight
Residents near the scene of the firefight between the bandit Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and pursuing Army Scout Rangers reported seeing at least one American MH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter but could not say for sure if any American soldiers participated directly in the encounter.
The Pave Hawk's primary wartime missions include infiltration, exfiltration and resupply of special operations.
The local villagers near the fringe area of Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte said they scampered to take cover when the firing started.
Maan Macapagal, Radio dzMM