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April 20, 2000, PHNO, 2 Abu Sayyaf Hostages Beheaded,

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April 20, 2000, PHNO, 2 Abu Sayyaf Hostages Beheaded

Malacanang, April 20, 2000 Malacanang confirmed last night that the extremist Muslim rebel group Abu Sayyaf beheaded two male hostages yesterday afternoon.

Press Secretary Ricardo Puno said the executions were confirmed by sources which were normally reliable.

The beheadings were earlier announced on a Zamboanga City radio station by Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Asmad Salayudi, who identified the fatalities only as “former soldiers” but gave no further details on their identity.

The two killed were school teachers who were formerly soldiers, Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Ahmad Salayuddin told the Inquirer. One was a reservist in the Armed Forces and the other was a retired Army soldier, he said. He also said he would identify the two today.

He told the Phil. Daily Inquirer that six Abu Sayyaf members used a barong, a sword-like weapon, to decapitate the two at 3:20 p.m.

''We asked them to kneel and then we asked them to bow their heads, and we immediately beheaded them. There was no ritual because we have done this before to our enemies,'' he said.

Salayuddin, alias Abu Sabaya, said he felt no remorse. ''Their lives were wasted because the government did not act fast and on time,'' he said simply. ''The government could have prevented this.''

The military's reaction was immediate and harsh. ''They have drawn the first blood and signed their own death warrant,'' Armed Forces spokesman Col. Rafael Romero said in Manila.

''Our forces on the ground will take appropriate action,'' he said.

According to Romero, a thousand soldiers are now deployed in Basilan.

The rebels are still holding 28 hostages, mostly children and women, at Camp Abdurajak on Mt. Mahadji in Basilan.

''Our demands were not met so we had no choice,'' Salayuddin said on radio. The government had earlier rejected most of the Abu Sayyaf's demands, including the release of three Muslims being held in US prisons.

He warned of more executions.

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on Jan 13, 13