Associated Press
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines — Chances of rescuing two Americans held hostage by Muslim extremists will increase during a six-month counterterrorism training mission involving U.S. troops, the Philippine military spokesman said Friday.
Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said sophisticated surveillance and communications equipment brought by U.S. forces could increase the mobility of Filipino troops pursuing Abu Sayyaf guerrillas.
The exercise, aimed at wiping out the Abu Sayyaf, involves 660 U.S. troops. That includes 160 from the special forces assigned to various Philippine combat units on Basilan island, where the guerrillas hold American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham from Wichita, Kan., and Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap.
Adan said the Philippine military, one of the most poorly equipped in Southeast Asia, has been relying on informants to learn about rebel movements in the jungles of Basilan. It usually takes hours before commanders are able to react.
On Thursday, Philippine television showed video footage obtained by a Western news agency of Martin Burnham reading a statement from the Abu Sayyaf. In the video, Burnham said his captors are linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terror network.
The video reportedly was made in mid-January, but Adan said the Philippine military doubts it, believing it may have been taken sometime in October after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
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