Lt. Col. Danilo Servando, spokesman for the military’s Southern Command (Southcom) based in Zamboanga City, said the operations involving nine battalions of elite forces assisted by American advisers have reached a "critical point" where the terrorists may be cornered any time.
"We are now reaching the critical point of the operation. We have more or less pinpointed the main group of the enemy," Servando said.
"What is lacking is the actual sighting of the hostages," he added.
Army Rangers clashed Thursday with about 30 Abu Sayyaf gunmen believed holding American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kansas and Filipina nurse Deborah Yap of Lamitan town in Basilan.
The firefight which took place in a remote village near Lantawan town left seven soldiers wounded. No casualty figure on the Abu Sayyaf side was immediately available.
Meanwhile, an influential Muslim religious leader warned against rescuing the hostages by force, saying it would only endanger their lives.
"This is a risky operation because once the Abu Sayyaf will be cornered by the military, there would be no other choice for them but to execute their hostages," said Ustadz Shariff Julabbi, a member of the League of Ulama Council.
The Abu Sayyaf has established a track record of executing hostages. Among them were American Guillermo Sobero of Corona, California who was seized on May 27 last year from the upscale resort of Dos Palmas in Palawan, along with the Burnhams and 18 Filipino guests and staff members of the facility.
The Abu Sayyaf beheaded Sobero on June 11 "as an Independence Day gift to the Arroyo administration."
Julabbi, spokesman for the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front for Western Mindanao, stressed that the only way to get the hostages alive is through peaceful negotiations.
He said the military knows the consequences of rescuing the hostages by force. "That is the very reason why they (soldiers) cannot go and launch the rescue."
He added that the Abu Sayyaf was firm in its decision to release the hostages through peaceful dialogues.
"The Abu Sayyaf has its own committee handling the case of negotiation, and I am in the process of doing it for the good of the country, and not to aggrandize myself," Julabbi said.
Julabbi hinted that he was trying to open the doors for a dialogue between government authorities and the Abu Sayyaf leaders.
He ruled out talks about ransom for the hostages , saying it will "give bad precedence."
"If we can negotiate without ransom, then we have to do it," he said.
For his part, Servando indicated that threats to execute the hostages would not make the troops backpedal in the operations.
Col. Roland Detabali, Southcom operations chief, said it was possible the Rangers encountered the Abu Sayyaf main group led by Hamsiraji Sali and Isnilon Hapilon as the bandits were armed with high-powered weapons, including recoilless rifles.
The hostages are believed to be held by Hapilon’s group.
The troops recovered personal female belongings, giving rise to speculations that they belonged to Gracia Burnham and Yap.
Meanwhile, President Arroyo expressed optimism that the troops would be able to stamp out soon the Abu Sayyaf bandits who have been on the run in Basilan for seven weeks now.
Addressing the 105th anniversary of the Philippine Army, the President said the country can now "look forward with confidence" to an Abu Sayyaf-free Basilan.
"We will put an end to these terrorists soon with the assistance of our allies," Mrs. Arroyo said.
He was referring to 660 American soldiers, including 160 members of US Special Forces, giving assistance, technical aid and training in counter-terrorism to their Filipino counterparts involved in the operations against the Abu Sayyaf.
"Our troops are hot on the trail of the terrorists, aided by sophisticated intelligence gathering provided by the US military aircraft and other means," the President said. — With AFP report