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U.S., Spanish Nationals Among Abducted In Philippines
PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines, May 27 (News Agencies) - An American couple and a Spaniard were among 20 people kidnapped by suspected self-styled Muslim rebels from an island resort in the western Philippines Sunday, officials said.
Gunmen believed to be from the notorious Abu Sayyaf group struck at the Dos Palmas resort at dawn and fled with the guests in two boats, a police spokesman said.
Military intelligence sources named the foreign victims of the attack on the tiny resort of Araceffi off Palawan island as Americans Martin Burham and his wife Gracia, and Guillermo Zobero of Spain.
Armed forces chief of staff General Diomedio Villanueva earlier said two Spaniards and an American were among the victims, but the sources said he had made a mistake.
Villanueva said the foreigners, along with 13 Filipino guests and two staff of the Dos Palmas hotel, were forced into motorboats which sped off into the Sulu Sea.
"We are scouring the offshore waters of Palawan. We really hope we can still intercept them," Villanueva said.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been briefed about the kidnappings, and her order to the police and military is to "pursue them. The policy is no ransom," her national security adviser Roilo Golez said.
A navy patrol craft had been deployed off Araceffi to secure the other hotel guests, said the western Philippines military commander Rear Admiral Rodolfo Rabago.
Military and police authorities said they were not ruling out the possible involvement of the Abu Sayyaf. The hotel staff told local police the raiders spoke in Tausug, the dialect used by the Abu Sayyaf.
"If they are Abu Sayyaf, we will find out for sure later on," Villanueva said.
Golez said "these are armed bandits. Any group could be a suspect."
Villanueva said he would fly to Palawan shortly to direct pursuit operations. The president's orders are to "go all out" against the raiders, he said.
The Abu Sayyaf, a small group of self-styled Islamic independence fighters gained international notoriety in April last year when they raided a Malaysian resort and took 21 foreign and local hostages.
They were held in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, about 480 kilometers (298 miles) to the south of Araceffi.
The Abu Sayyaf released many of their captives in exchange for hefty ransoms, while others were freed in a military assault.
Dos Palmas is the only upscale resort in Palawan and is about an hour's boat ride from the capital city of Puerto Princesa.
It was the second attack on an upscale tourist resort in the Philippines in five days
Last week, at least 10 gunmen, described by the authorities as "bandits", crept up to Pearl Farm resort on Samal island and took away four locals as "human shields" after destroying its wharf with a hail of rocket-fired grenades and gunfire.
Two hotel staff were killed and three others wounded, but none of the 105 hotel guests were harmed in Tuesday's attack. The hostages later escaped unharmed.
Later Sunday, Philippine authorities said they sighted the gunmen and that the military is confident the victims will be rescued, Arroyo's spokesman said.
Arroyo dispatched Villanueva to the Palawan capital of Puerto Princesa to lead the rescue efforts, presidential spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said.
"General Villanueva is in Puerto Princesa as we speak. He says that the kidnapping band has been sighted, and is very confident that the kidnappers could be encircled and hostages released," Tiglao told ABS-CBN television.
He did not say where the gunmen were seen, but radio reports said their speedboat was found on the shores of Bugsuk island, off Palawan's southern tip.
Tiglao stressed that the government would not negotiate with the gunmen.
"Our policy stands, there will be no negotiations for any kind of ransom."
Asked about reports that the raiders are members of the Abu Sayyaf, Tiglao said:
"That is one report that we received. One report we received is that because of the [military] operation in Basilan or Sulu [island groups where the Abu Sayyaf operates], the Abu Sayyaf has broken up in so many splinter groups.
"But we don't have any strong confirmation as yet if these are Abu Sayyaf."
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