Philippines hostage crisis escalates

President Arroyo says there will be no ceasefire with the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers

By staff reporters

MANILA, Philippines -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has provided the latest twist in the escalating hostage crisis, saying she will negotiate with Abu Sayyaf kidnappers provided they release all their hostages.

As confusion surrounded the fate of an American hostage the kidnappers claim to have beheaded, Arroyo accused the extremist group of being "people without souls" and promised no ceasefire or withdrawal of military troops.

The door remained open for negotiations with Abu Sayyaf, she said, but only if the group released their captives.

The Abu Sayyaf are now believed to be holding 28 hostages, including three Americans.

VIDEO As Arroyo calls the Abu Sayyaf 'people without souls,' there are reports of more fighting. CNN's John Raedler is in Manila (June 13) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) The wife of the man the Abu Sayyaf claim to have killed talks about her ordeal (June 12) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   AUDIO CNN's John Raedler reports there will be no ceasefire between the Philippines military and Abu Sayyaf extremists 1.32MB / 2 minutes AIFF or WAV sound   IN-DEPTH Abu Sayyaf: Militants in the Philippines   •  Background   •  Interview script   •  Incident map   •  Message board    COUNTRY PROFILE At a glance: Philippines Provided by CountryWatch.com    CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

A spokesman for the Philippine military said Wednesday it was "possible" that an American hostage was still alive, nearly two days after Muslim separatists announced they had beheaded him.

One of the leaders of the kidnappers, Abu Sabaya, claimed they had killed Guillermo Sobero, 40, one of three Americans kidnapped May 27 from an island resort in Palawan.

But a man claiming to be Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Sabaya told CNN by telephone Wednesday afternoon that unless the group's demand for talks with a Malaysian negotiator were met, more hostages would be killed.

The man restated earlier claims that the group had a film of the execution, which he was willing to sell to CNN and other news organizations. CNN refused to buy the purported film.

He insisted the separatists had carried out the killing. "We are not bluffing," he said. "We have done it already."

Philippine authorities Tuesday discovered the headless bodies of two Filipino men on the island of Basilan, where the Islamic guerrillas said they beheaded the American.

The rebel spokesman said the bodies were not from among the hostages.

Despite Abu Sayyaf claims the American had been beheaded, Philippine and U.S. authorities were still optimistic the kidnappers have been bluffing.

"It is possible that Mr. Sobero is still alive," Brigadier Gen. Edilberto Adan said Wednesday, at the conclusion of a four-hour cabinet meeting.

Of significance, he said, was that Sobero's body had not been found and that the Abu Sayyaf have made past claims that turned out not to be true.

Adan said he was "cautiously hopeful" Sobero was still alive.

Abu Sabaya has said the two other American hostages were safe. But he said the lives of all capitives were in jeopardy as long as the military continued to search for the Abu Sayyaf or as long as the government refused to send in Malaysian negotiators.

"We don't have any deadline," he threatened. "We will just inform [the government] that we have already executed the hostages."

'Fire with fire'

At a press conference earlier on Wednesday, Arroyo said the government's main goal was to rescue the hostages safely.

If the hostages are not released, she said, there will be "no deal, no ceasefire, no suspension of military activity against the bandits." Arroyo pledged to fight the rebels until "they are finished."

Calling the group "bandits," she said the government would follow their own law of an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth, adding the military would continue to meet "fire with fire".

Abu Sayyaf says it is fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippine islands.

"We are not mercenaries; we are not doing it for money," the kidnappers' spokesman said of the hostage-taking. He accused the government of falsely claiming the group was demanding a ransom.

At Sobero's house in Corona, Calif., 60 miles east of Los Angeles, family members have said they are in contact with the State Department and the FBI on Sobero's whereabouts.

Born in Lima, Peru, Sobero has lived in Corona for seven years and had recently become a U.S. citizen.