July 7, 2001, The Philippine Star, Troops zero in on Sayyaf lair as hostages are sighted, by Roel Pareno,

July 7, 2001, The Philippine Star, Troops zero in on Sayyaf lair as hostages are sighted, by Roel Pareno, cache,

Government forces were reported zeroing in on an Abu Sayyaf jungle lair in central Basilan as spies reported having seen at least two Americans and 19 Filipinos being held hostage by the Muslim extremist group.

Lt. Col. Danilo Servando, spokesman for the Armed Forces' Southern Command (Southcom) based in Zamboanga City, said the troops have cordoned off the 30-square-kilometer mountainous area in the Sampinit complex where the Abu Sayyaf gunmen and their hostages were holed up.

Servando said the troops have limited the movements of the Abu Sayyaf bandits.

"We have sightings of the remaining hostages. They (Abu Sayyaf) have no liberty to move in areas controlled by them because of the troops' presence," Servando said.

The report by the deep penetration agents was the first confirmation in weeks of the captives' location.

Servando did not elaborate on the conditions of the captives, or where they were seen.

Servando also quoted villagers as saying they have seen the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers and the hostages, including American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham from Wichita, Kansas, within the Sampinit complex.

A third American, Guillermo Sobero, 40, of Corona, California was presumed dead, although his body has not been found.

Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sabaya has said on radio that they beheaded Sobero on June 11, then gave vague instructions on how to recover his remains.

The reports were bolstered by the recent discovery of an area in the Sampinit where the bandits and their captives apparently stopped to rest.

Soldiers found personal belongings of a woman, a list of medical supplies the Abu Sayyaf had wanted to acquire, blood-stained bandages, a piece of log carved with the word "Abu" and a wooden gun part.

The blockade involved eight battalions of soldiers consisting of some 4,000 men, plus another battalion of the elite Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police.

Servando predicted that the Abu Sayyaf may conduct fresh raids on some population centers in a bid to ease the pressure being applied on them by the advancing government forces.

The three Americans were snatched by Abu Sayyaf gunmen who swooped down on the upscale resort of Dos Palmas in Palawan on May 27. Also seized during the raid with 14 Filipino guests and three workers of the resort.

The two resort workers were executed earlier, while all but two of the Filipino guests have been freed upon payment of ransoms through backdoor negotiations despite the government's no-ransom policy.

The terrorists also captured four hospital staff members and 15 plantations workers in Basilan. Two of the plantation workers have been beheaded by their captors.

Sayyaf recruits train in Afghanistan, says Biazon

At least 50 suspected Abu Sayyaf members are undergoing training in Afghanistan, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon said.

But the military insisted there were no indications that the Abu Sayyaf has sent its people to Afghanistan.

Biazon, himself a retired Armed Forces chief, said the information was relayed to him by a Philippine official in the United Nations mission to Afghanistan looking at training of suspected terrorists in the war-torn country.

Washington and Moscow have accused the Taliban regime, which controls much of Afghanistan, of harboring suspected terrorists, including Saudi millionaire Osama bin Laden.

Philippine authorities have claimed that Laden has been covertly supporting the Abu Sayyaf with funds and firepower.

Biazon, chairman of the Senate committee on national security and defense, recalled that Abu Sayyaf founders led by Abdurajak Janjalani were trained in Afghanistan.

Col. Victor Corpus, chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said they were coordinating with other government agencies to verify Biazon's report.

AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said it was likely that the suspected Abu Sayyaf trainees in Afghanistan could be recruits of the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which recently signed a ceasefire agreement with the government.