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U.S. Expands Training of Philippines Troops
By Kazi Mahmood, IslamOnline Correspondent
JAKARTA, Dec. 9 (IslamOnline) - The Philippines announced Saturday that U.S. soldiers are preparing to expand a training regime for local special forces fighting groups holding an American couple and a Filipino female nurse hostage on Basilan Island.
Earlier Friday, 19 American soldiers landed at Edwin Andrews Air Base in full gear, to assist the local army in the battle against the Abu Sayyaf kidnap gang.
"They are looking into the possibility of conducting training for another Light Reaction Company in Zamboanga," said Lt. Col. Danilo Servando, spokesman for the Armed Forces Southern Command. Servando said the training could begin at a local military camp "early next year".
Members of the first Light Reaction Company trained by U.S. experts engaged Abu Sayyaf gunmen Friday, killing 11 bandits and capturing one. Two soldiers were wounded.
U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel John Christian of the Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group based in Manila said American soldiers would not join in combat.
Christian acknowledged that the tough terrain and various social issues made fighting the Abu Sayyaf difficult. "That's why we've got to work together the best we can to try to solve the problem," he added. The U.S. soldiers were scheduled to leave this city late Saturday.
Servando said U.S. soldiers would set up logistics facilities and other training requirements here.
The Abu Sayyaf is still holding Martin and Gracia Burnham, of Wichita, Kansas, and Filipino nurse Deborah Yap. U.S. military officers said they hoped they would rescue the hostages by Christmas.
The Burnhams have been held since May 27, when they were seized by the Abu Sayyaf from an island resort in Palawan.
On Friday, Philippine armed forces clashed with the Abu Sayyaf in Kumalarang outside Isabela City, the capital of Basilan. The bandits fled to other areas but the fighting continued as the military pursued them.
Soldiers intercepted radio messages requesting reinforcements from other Abu Sayyaf units. Soldiers seized night-vision equipment and a heavy recoilless rifle, and cut off a food supply route used by the Abu Sayyaf to maintain a jungle base.
More than 7,000 soldiers are scouring Basilan's jungle-covered mountains for the three hostages, the last of scores taken in a kidnapping spree.
Most hostages were released or escaped, but others have been beheaded, including Guillermo Sobero of Corona, California.
During a visit to Washington by President Gloria Arroyo last month, the United States agreed to provide equipment and training for the Philippine military, one of Asia's poorest, in its pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf, which has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
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