Report details rescue bid

Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap was hacked to death by Abu Sayyaf rebels when the Scout Rangers pulled a surprise rescue operation 20 metres away from the group's camp in the jungles of Sirawi, Zamboanga del Norte on June 7, said a report by Major General Ernesto Carolina, head of the southern Philippines military command, on the June 7 assault on Mindanao island.

She was found dead at the creek-side that lined the jungle. She was 10 meters away from the centre of fire which the military targeted during the rescue operation, said Carolina, head of the southern command based in Zamboanga City, in a report that shocked the Philippines yesterday.

"The searching team believed that she (Yap) was hacked with a bladed weapon judging from the gaping wound that she sustained," Carolina said in his official report on the June 7 rescue operation.

At the same time, American missionary Martin Burham was not hit by a stray bullet from the rescuing team, Carolina said. Instead, Philippine military rescuers had opened fire without knowing whether two U.S. missionaries and the Filipina nurse held hostage by Abu Sayyaf guerrillas were in the killing zone, the report said.

Carolina quoted the lieutenant who led the team for having ordered to use "single fire only at visible targets so as not to endanger the lives of the hostages, just in case the hostages were with the group."

The assault team refrained from using "indirect fire" such as grenades "unless the hostages were secured," Carolina's report said.

"Although surprised, the enemy put up a hasty defence, firing as they jumped out of their hammocks. They delivered a heavy volume of fire using mainly M203s (grenade launchers). The soldiers, however, were very careful in delivering their selective fire because there was still no sighting of the hostages," said Carolina.

The two camps clashed for 10 minutes as they were 20 metres away from each other. By that time, the soldiers spotted the two American hostages. Gracia Burnham was taken safely after another 15 minutes of fighting, said Carolina, hinting the Abu Sayyaf members tried to use Martin as a shield.

However, sources said Martin was hit in the back, a sign that he was killed by the military. Martin's brother Paul earlier said an autopsy report showed that his sibling was killed by the Philippine military.

The surviving hostage, Gracia was "just a couple of steps away from a makeshift tent," when found by the soldiers, said Carolina, adding her husband Martin, "who was hit in the back, was already dead".

"She was wearing grey jogging pants, black sweatshirt and black socks. She had no shoes," the report said, hinting that the Abu Sayyaf prevented her from running away because she was used as a human shield.

Defence spokesman Melchor Rosales refused to confirm that Martin was hit in the back. "I cannot comment on that until I receive the official report," said Rosales in Manila.

Observers said Carolina's report hinted that the rescuing team did not know that the American missionaries and the Filipina nurse were with the Abu Sayyaf when they assaulted the latter's camp.

The operation was undertaken after eight weeks of seemingly fruitless search in the hinterlands of Zamboanga del Norte. The soldiers finally saw their target when they saw four tents that were pitched beside a riverbank in Sirawai town.

Protecting the military from being criticised for the death of the two hostages, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo earlier said: "Our military commanders made the right call. They made the correct call."

"The Abu Sayyaf killed Martin Burnham," U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, Francis Ricciardone, said to end speculations on which camp killed the American missionary.

"There is no moral ambiguity here. No one should try to suggest that this was bungled or botched in any way. These guys were heroes and they were brave and skillful," added Ricciardone in defence of the Philippine military.

The Abu Sayyaf held the Burnham couple and Yap for a year, following their abduction from a resort in Palawan on May 27, and in a hospital in Basilan on June 2 last year.

The Abu Sayyaf group is recruiting new members and are offering salaries as high as $ 3,000 to $6,000 a month, from among residents of Basilan, Sulu and Zamboanga peninsula, said a radio report in Manila.

They are using the ransom money they got in 2000 and in 2001 to entice young Muslims in these areas, said the military.

The southern command said the Abu Sayyaf had bought state-of-the-art war equipment from the $25 million ransom money they raised after kidnapping 40 mostly foreign tourists in Sipadan, Malaysia, in April 2000, and in Jolo, in August and September of the same year.

The group also raised more than $2 million ransom payment after a kidnapping spree last year. The military said the group has dwindled from 150 to lest than 100 this year, but the military, despite the training and assistance from the U.S., has failed to arrest one major Abu Sayyaf leader.