They said their Abu Sayyaf captors told them their two "guests" were Yemenis.
The Abu Sayyaf gunmen, fleeing from government forces in Basilan, opened fire on civilians yesterday, killing a boy and seriously wounding three people.
An army spokesman said the incident occurred just hours after four of the 14 Abu Sayyaf hostages escaped from their captors in the Lumbang jungle. Two soldiers were also wounded in fierce clashes that erupted in Lumbang.
Maj. Alberto Gapilano, of the First Infantry Division, said guerrillas strafed houses owned by farmers in the village, killing Nadzlam Mohd, 7, and wounding his father Ajarail. A woman, Sibla Pinpin, and her son, Makio, were wounded in the attack.
Yesterday, the military presented to reporters, the four people who had escape their Abu Sayyaf captors after more than four months in captivity.
Basilan army commander, Col Hermogenes Esperon, identified the four as Joel Guilo, 26, Reynaldo Ariston, 26, Rodrigo Solon, 37, and Ruben Baldesamos, 13.
Fighting erupted in the village after troops caught up with the militants, led by Abu Sabaya, whose group is holding an American missionary couple and eight Filipinos, kidnapped from Dos Palmas resort in Palawan and Basilan island in May.
Mindanao military chief, Lt Gen. Roy Cimatu, also said one of the four former captives confirmed the presence of two Yemeni nationals linked to dissident Osama Bin Laden, who stayed with the Abu Sayyaf in the jungle since September.
Guilo, one of the escaped hostages, told reporters one of them had "a long beard like Bin Laden".
"Two Yemenis stayed together with us and told the Abu Sayyaf not to engage in kidnapping or beheading because it's against Islam. They joined our group and I heard them talking with the Abu Sayyaf that Bin Laden's men were behind the attacks in the U.S.," said Guillo.
He said he saw the U.S. captives Martin and Gracia Burnham, on Saturday night. "We were separated because of the explosions. There was fighting and we decided to escape. Our companions were left behind. Martin is very weak, his hands are tied and Gracia spends every night crying".
On their ordeal, Guillo said: "It was very difficult. We had to walk in the jungle day and night to avoid pursuing troops and many of us got sick, including the Americans".
He said they would share their meals of bananas and dried fish, sometimes chicken and beef. "But I can say that the Abu Sayyaf has a lot of connections because every time we were near a town, food and clothing would arrive, much to our surprise".
