36 Suspected Muslim Rebels Arrested
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) -
Philippine troops arrested 36 people believed to be members or supporters of a Muslim
rebel group that is holding four hostages, including an American, an official said Sunday.
Soldiers found no hostages
Saturday in the raid on a house in Bulangsi village in Luuk town in Jolo, about 580 miles
south of Manila, said regional military spokesman army Col. Hilario Atendido.
They did find three rifles, he
said. The arrested included seven children.
All 36 were believed to be
either members or sympathizers of the Abu Sayyaf, which has been blamed for a series of
recent kidnappings, including the abduction of 21 Europeans and Asians from a Malaysian
resort last April, Atendido said.
The suspects were being
investigated in a marine camp in Jolo, he said.
Many of the hostages seized by
Abu Sayyaf rebels have been freed after the payment of more than $15 million by Libya and
Malaysia, negotiators say.
Six other Abu Sayyaf guerrillas
surrendered Saturday to the military in Jolo, where government troops launched a massive
assault last month to rescue hostages - three Malaysians, a Filipino and Jeffrey Schilling
from Oakland, Cal. - still in rebel custody.
More than 30 rebels have
surrendered to the military in recent days and many more are expected to give up due to
battle fatigue, hunger and lack of ammunition, officials said.
The military says at least 129
rebels have been killed since the assault was launched Sept. 16. Five soldiers and three
militiamen have been killed and 16 soldiers injured in the attack in Jolo.
The rebels say they are
fighting for a separate Islamic state in the southern Philippines, but the government
regards them as bandits.
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