Suspects held in beheading of marines

ZAMBOANGA (AFP) - Two suspects have surrendered and been arrested over the beheading of 10 marines in the southern Philippines island of Basilan, the military said Friday.

The two men turned themselves in to a military unit and handed over a rifle they had taken from one of the slain troops, said regional military spokesman Major Eugene Batara.

He provided no identities or other details.

The marine unit was attacked in a village on July 10 as they followed up a tip that kidnappers were holding an Italian Roman Catholic priest in the area. Fourteen marines were killed, of whom 10 were beheaded.

The priest has since been freed unharmed.

A local court has ordered the arrest of 130 suspects, mostly members of the Muslim separatist guerrilla group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that has been holding peace talks with Manila.

The rebels have said they killed the soldiers, but deny beheading them.

"Two suspects have surrendered to the military and we are investigating their role in the killing of our soldiers," Batara told reporters here.

After initially blaming the MILF, the government has since said witnesses identified four members of the Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf as decapitating at least four of the dead Marines.

The Abu Sayyaf group has carried out numerous attacks on Christians and foreigners. Philippine and US security services have linked it to the Al-Qaeda network of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden.