Abu Sayyaf rebels take 77 people hostage in Basilan

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- A group of Muslim extremist guerrillas attacked an Army outpost early yesterday in Basilan and seized 77 people, including a priest and students from two schools, the military said.

About 60 members of the Abu Sayyaf rebel group staged the attack on the outpost in the village of Tumahubong in Sumisip town, said Col. Hilario Atendido, civilian-military relations chief of the military's Southern Command.

Atentido said about 50 of the students were later freed by the rebels, who were led by commanders Isnilon Hapilon and Khadafy Montaño Janjalani, brother of slain Abu Sayyaf chieftain Ustadz Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani.

As the rebels fled from pursuing troops, some swooped down on a Catholic high school and seized the parish priest, the Rev. Roel Gallardo, director of the Claret High School; school principal Reynaldo Rubio, six teachers and 39 students, the military said.

Five of the teachers were identified as Annebelle Mendoza, Marissa Mante, Winiefer Hilario, Nourhaida Kotoh and Ernesto Arellano.

Other rebels seized seven elementary and four high school teachers from the Sinangkapan National High School in nearby Tuburan town, Atendido said. One of the teachers was later rescued by soldiers.

The rebels apparently seized the students and teachers to use them as "human shields" against pursuing soldiers, Atendido said.

They later released 20 students unharmed, he said.

The rebels refused to negotiate with the police and the military, but asked for a doctor and wanted to talk with reporters, said Alan Cajucom, head of the local Red Cross chapter.

Cajucom said the rebels, who called from a cellular telephone, did not state any immediate demands.

The Abu Sayyaf was also suspected in the abduction last week of two elementary school teachers in a village in Zamboanga City. The teachers are still being held.

The attack in Basilan came as troops pursued guerrillas of another Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, who attacked military outposts in four towns in Lanao del Norte province on the southern island of Mindanao.

Clashes that followed those attacks left more than 80 guerrillas and 11 soldiers dead. Seven civilians also were killed, officials said.

The Office of Civil Defense said the fighting has forced more than 7,500 people to flee their villages in four Lanao del Norte towns. The evacuees were given shelter in school buildings, it said.

Lanao del Norte Gov. Imelda Dimaporo said the number of evacuees could be bigger since three other towns were not included in the civil defense list. She did not give details.

She said Muslim vendors in the capital of Tubod have left the town for fear of retaliation from Christian residents.

The Abu Sayyaf, the smaller of two Muslim rebel groups, has been blamed for numerous attacks against Christians, including foreign missionaries, in the southern Philippines. --