Bodies found as Philippine kidnappers flee

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines -- Police on the southern Philippine island of Basilan say they have found the bodies of two hostages captured last week by Muslim extremist gunmen.

They say one of the bodies had been beheaded and both were in a state of decomposition.

The find comes after almost two days of fighting between Philippine forces and the Abu Sayyaf who had seized a hospital in the town of Lamitan close to where the bodies were found.

The two bodies are reported to be those of Filippino resort workers, kidnapped from the Dos Palmas beach resort last Sunday.

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Soldiers are now reported to be pursuing the kidnappers -- thought to number up to 60 individuals -- into the jungle on the small but heavily forested island.

CNN's Mike Chinnoy, who is in the Philippine capital, Manila, says the discovery of the bodies raises new fears about the safety of the remaining hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf.

Earlier a representative of the gunmen threatened to kill all the hostages unless the government called off its offensive against them.

Kidnappers escape offensive

Given the partially decomposed state of the bodies there is speculation that the two hostages may have been killed on Friday when troops began their ongoing assault on the Abu Sayyaf.

Earlier officials announced that after two days holed up in a hospital compound, the kidnappers had escaped overnight into the jungle around Lamitan.

The governor of Basilan island Wahad Akbar said the gunmen fled the town covering their escape with volleys of gunfire and using their hostages as human shields.

They are thought to have taken with them a number of hostages seized from a beach resort in the south of the country as well as several members of hospital staff.

Five hostages seized from a beach resort a week ago fled their captors during the guerrilla's chaotic flight.

Another four of the beach resort hostages, including an eight year old boy, managed to flee their captors Saturday.

Among the remaining hostages held by the kidnappers are three American citizens. The rest are Filipino nationals -- either tourists or employees of the Dos Palmas beach resort.

Serious blow

Observers say the kidnappers escape is a serious blow for the government of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo which has vowed to crush the gunmen.

Teresa Ganzon, one of the resort hostages who escaped Sunday, has appealed to the government to negotiate the release of her captive colleagues.

"I'm appealing to the government to stop the military operation and look for another solution to the problem. The hostages will have a hard time because they know nothing about the jungle," Ganzon said.

The Abu Sayyaf added to their hostages Saturday when they invaded the hospital building in Lamitan, abducting priests, doctors and patients.

One priest, Cirilo Nacorda, told local radio he escaped the hospital early Sunday after hiding in a bathroom throughout Saturday.

He said four nuns hid in the basement amid heavy fighting and escaped after the Abu Sayyaf fled

Alton Angeles, a former town councilor in Lamitan, said fighting raged until about 3 a.m. Sunday (1900 GMT Saturday).

He said he didn't know the whereabouts of the kidnappers or the remaining hostages although military officials say they are thought to be hiding in the jungle on the outskirts of Lamitan.

"It subsided and when the sun went up and smoke cleared the rebels were no longer there," Angeles said.

He said he saw four dead, likely Abu Sayyaf gunmen, around the hospital.

Arroyo talks tough

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has insisted the military operation would not stop until all hostages are released.

"We will finish off all the bandits if they don't surrender at the earliest possible time," she said in a radio address Saturday.

In the same address Arroyo said that top Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani was among those killed and another Abu Sayyaf leader, Abu Sabaya, who also doubles as the group's spokesman, was wounded.

No further details have emerged to confirm this.

The Abu Sayyaf seized 10 international tourists about a year ago from a Malaysian resort.

Over the following months most were released -- reportedly in return for millions of dollars in ransom.

The group claims that they are fighting for a separate Islamic state but they are widely seen as little more than bandits and kidnappers looking for ransom money and not much else.