June 22, 2001, The Philippine Star, Soldiers' Heads Found in Basilan,

June 22, 2001, The Philippine Star, Soldiers' Heads Found in Basilan, 

Zamboanga City, June 21, 2001 - The severed heads of three Filipino soldiers have been found in Tuburan, where Abu Sayyaf kidnappers said they had beheaded an American hostage, military officials said today.

Brigadier General Romeo Dominguez said the heads belonged to soldiers disappeared during a gunbattle with the Abu Sayyaf earlier this month in Basilan.

"Our troops recovered three heads believed to be those of missing soldiers in the hinterlands of Tuburan town," said Dominguez, the military task force commander in Basilan. "The heads have been identified by their families."

It was not clear when the soldiers were killed, but the military has not previously mentioned any missing soldiers in its reports.

The guerrillas have said in a radio interview that they had decapitated three soldiers captured in a gunbattle earlier this month with troops pursuing them. The military has denied the claim.

Lieutenant Colonel Jose Mabanta in Manila said that the heads, found on Thursday morning, were in an advanced state of decomposition.

The grisly discovery added fuel to claims by the Abu Sayyaf that they had beheaded American Guillermo Sobero on June 12 as an "Independence Day gift" to President Gloria Arroyo.