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.
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..
Have to contemplate how long before the United States is dealing with demands for a seperate and independant Muslim state?
The best solution here would be to expel all muslims from the Philippines. The muslim religion should be declared null and void by all nations.
Just like in Kashmir. Anyone else noticing a pattern?