Phillipine Missionaries Found, Husband Killed Wife Saved

Yahoo News ^ | 7/7/02

[Mr.Clark]

(Reuters) - An American missionary held hostage for more than a year by Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines was killed and his wife wounded but rescued on Friday in a gunbattle between the kidnappers and troops, officials said. A Filipina nurse held hostage by the same Abu Sayyaf rebels -- which has links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network -- was also killed in the firefight, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said in a statement

[Mr.Clark]

Very sad.

[Mr.Clark]

Here's the whole article

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (Reuters) - A American missionary held hostage for more than a year by Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines was killed and his wife wounded but rescued on Friday during an attempt by Philippine troops to free them, officials said.

A Filipina nurse held hostage by the same Abu Sayyaf rebels linked to Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s al Qaeda network, was also killed in the rescue attempt, the officials said.

"The terrorists shall not be allowed to get away with this. We shall not stop until the Abu Sayyaf is finished," Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (news - web sites) said in Manila, announcing the death of missionary Martin Burnham and Filipina Deborah Yap.

"I am deeply saddened," she said.

Burnham's wife, Gracia, was recovering in a hospital with a bullet wound to the leg sustained in the fighting during heavy rain in the jungle of Zamboanga del Norte province on southern Mindanao island, 800 km (500 miles) south of Manila, officials said.

Four rebels were killed while Philippine troops suffered at least seven wounded in the fighting which erupted during what the U.S. military said was a rescue attempt.

U.S. troops deployed in the southern Philippines to train Philippine soldiers in counter-terrorism operations were not involved in the clash, officials said.

"The Philippine armed forces made a rescue attempt. In that rescue attempt, Mr. Burnham was killed, Mrs. Burnham was wounded," General Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters in Brussels.

FOOTSTEPS IN THE JUNGLE

Footprints found on a jungle trail led to the rescue operation one year and 11 days after the Burnhams were taken captive.

"This morning, while it was still dark, our soldiers found footsteps which were apparently left by the Abu Sayyaf and the hostages. They followed the trail and then there were heavy rains," Brigadier-General Emmanuel Teodosio of the Philippines, co-director of the training exercises, said on radio.

Soldiers caught up with the guerrillas when the group holding the Burnhams took shelter from the rain, he said.

He did not know if Abu Sayyaf leaders were among those killed but he said he hoped they were "so we can end this nightmare."

Philippine media said Abu Sayyaf leaders apparently escaped.

The Burnhams, from Wichita, Kansas, and married for 19 years, were among three Americans abducted by the guerrillas in May last year from a resort off Palawan island in the country's southwest.

The rebels beheaded Californian tourist Guillermo Sobero, last June after the hostages were taken to a rebel lair on Basilan island, 900 km (560 miles) south of the capital, Manila.

Officials said Philippine troops had recently learned that the Abu Sayyaf had slipped out of Basilan and moved their captives to the nearby Zamboanga peninsula.

"So we launched the military operation. We know there was risk the victims would be killed. We're thankful Gracia survived," said military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Danilo Servando.

U.S. TROOPS NOT INVOLVED

Philippines military chief Roy Cimatu told reporters U.S. troops training Filipinos in jungle warfare on near Basilan island were not involved in Friday's gunbattle.

More than 1,000 U.S. troops are helping Manila crush the Abu Sayyaf linked to Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Arroyo sent her condolences to the families of the Burnhams and Yap, adding that the army had done all it could.

"This has been a long and painful trial for them, for our government, for our country," she said.

"Our soldiers tried their best to hold their fire for their safety. We had hoped and prayed for their safe return."

The Abu Sayyaf claim to be fighting for an independent Muslim state in the south of predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines, but their chief occupation seems to be kidnappings for ransom.

In April 2000, Abu Sayyaf rebels abducted 21 mostly foreign hostages from the Malaysian diving resort of Sipadan and took them by boats to Jolo island, near Basilan.

That operation earned the guerrillas international notoriety as well as an estimated $20 million in ransom.

[pgkdan]

What a shame. I hope the bastards pay for this...all of them.

[Kobyashi1942]

I would like to think that US troops did play a role in nailing these bastards.

Bush should be applauded for backing the PI government in their war on terrorism.

[Dog]

What the heck....??

I just got in .....they were killed???

[eleni121]

Yes, very sad especially when you consider the baloney about respecting their "brother and sister" Christians Mohamedans spew forth.

[Wild Irish Rogue]

We'll be lucky, if the media even footnotes this big event-as it's all Kennedy today. Having read Fuhrman's book, I think the Moxley verdict was the right one,but, as usual, the media has no sense of proportion.

[BibChr]

Indeed this is very sad news. I think our church financially supported the Burnhams; I know we've prayed for them. I pray for Mrs. Burnham; what a sad, sad thing -- liberty, but at the cost of her husband.

Of course, Burnham himself has no regrets. He is rejoicing in the presence of the living Lord Jesus. But for those he leaves behind... how sad!

Dan

[FreedominJesusChrist]

I wonder if there is more that we could have done for them, they were after all, American citizens...

[Tree of Liberty]

The Filipino nurse and the American husband were both killed. The American wife was wounded and was medi-vaced out.

Here's the original breaking news thread.

[Tree of Liberty]

I doubt we'll never know the majority of what's going on in this war because of the black-ops nature of most of the battles.

[ppaul]

"Yap."

Yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap.
A lot of yapping.
That's all that's gonna happen.
There will be more senseless terrorist murders.
These will soon fade into the public's amnesia.
The victims will not be avenged.
Just like the victims of the Palestinian "martyrs" in Israel - another day, another mass murder.
And nothing ever really gets done.
Just more droning about "the peace process."
New we can have an ongoing "peace process" in the Philippines too.

[Dog]

Wow!

Thanks....

[eleni121]

I wonder if there is more that we could have done for them, they were after all, American citizens...

Probably and this is where it becomes heartbreaking. America had been reeling for a number of years under the evil and ignorant watch of the Clintons. I place the latest victims on the list of all those victims who did not have to die but for the Clinton years.

[Frances_Marion]

"Four rebels were killed while Philippine troops suffered at least seven wounded in the fighting which erupted during what the U.S. military said was a rescue attempt."

Sew Swine-heads onto their stinking carcasses and string their bodies up all over the island...as a message that there'll no negotiating with terrorists..

[Tree of Liberty]

No sweat

[Mr.Clark]

Sorry about the double post, I put in Phillipines and Missionaries but nothing came up. I was surprised it wasn't on the news, but I guess Skakel is much more important.

[MAWG]

Back in the 80's when Reagan was president, 4 American sailors were gunned down publicly in El Salvador. Unbeknownst to us until years later, Reagan took action. American Special Forces attacked a rebel camp that was responsible for the deaths and apparently killed everyone there, close to a hundred rebels if my memory is correct. They also blew the camp to smithereens. It is time again for another such mission in the Philippines.

[Shermy]

American soldiers secure the hospital inside the
Southern Command headquarters in Zamboanga City where
Gracia Burnham was rushed for treatment. - VAL RODRIGUEZ

GIs ring Southcom hospital

American troops stood guard over the Camp Navarro hospital at the Southern Command (Southcom) headquarters where Gracia Burnham was taken following yesterday’s bloody rescue that killed her husband Martin and Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap.

Two Huey helicopters airlifted the wounded Gracia and the body of Martin to the Camp Navarro hospital. Late last night, Gracia was airlifted to an undisclosed destination in Metro Manila.

On Feb. 15, a 1,000-strong contingent of US troops participating in the Balikatan military exercises were dispatched to Basilan province to support and advise 6,000 Philippine troops pursuing the Abu Sayyaf.

Two US Army MH-47 Chinook and two Black Hawk helicopters are providing humanitarian and relief support to Philippine troops in the Sibuco-Siraway area by transporting food and medical supplies, Phi-lippine military officials said.

About 160 elite US Special Forces troops and more than 300 military engineers are in Basilan.

The US troops participating in the Balikatan 02-1 joint military exercises have lent their Filipino counterparts high-tech equipment such as spy planes and satellite communications facilities to help Filipino soldiers track down the bandits and the hostages.

Two US Pave Hawk helicopters reportedly traded gunfire with suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels on Basilan in late May, but a spokesman for the US forces involved in the exercise dismissed the incident as part of the maneuvers.

Since January this year when Balikatan started, about 1,000 Green Berets, military engineers, and support staff have been involved in training local troops to better fight the rebels and help in the rescue of the hostages.

The Abu Sayyaf is linked by Philippine and US governments to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, suspected to be the mastermind in the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington. — With reports from Jaime Laude, Christina Mendez, Roel Pareño

[Humidston]

Very sad indeed! In my lame effort to put the best face on it, at least the children's mother will be returned to them - to share with them the love and tenderness they'll all need to recover.

May the Lord rejoice and embrace their father. May He welcome him into Heaven with trumpets and a beautiful feast!