Arroyo raises flag over Abu Sayyaf stronghold

Arroyo (in purple) has vowed to crush the Abu Sayyaf

MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has marked her country's Independence Day by raising the national flag on an island stronghold of the al Qaeda-linked militant group, the Abu Sayyaf.

The ceremony, in the battle-scarred town of Lamitan on the southern island of Basilan, took place amid tight security with snipers guarding the rooftops around the venue.

Lamitan was the scene of a bloody gunfight last year between government troops and Abu Sayyaf fighters, during which the militants took hostage Filippino nurse Ediborah Yap.

Yap, along with U.S. missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham who were seized earlier, were held captive by the Abu Sayyaf until last Friday when the Philippine military attacked the militants' jungle camp on the neighboring island of Mindanao in a bid to rescue the hostages.

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Yap and Martin Burnham were both killed in the raid, either caught in the crossfire or shot by their captors.

However, Gracia Burnham survived with only minor injuries. She has since returned to the United States. (Full story)

Arroyo made no comment at the flag raising ceremony -- the first time a Philippine president has attended such an event in the largely Muslim south of the country.

However, the occasion was undoubtedly designed to show the government's determination to see through its vow to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf threat.

Presidential spokesman Silvestre Afable told Reuters the ceremony was "symbolic of the government's efforts to free the island from terror and poverty."

During the army raid Friday, the gunmen retreated into the think jungle that covers large areas of Mindanao.

However, the Philippine army says that now there are no hostages to worry about, they will intensify the fight against the Abu Sayyaf.

They are being assisted by some 1,000 U.S. military personnel, who are training and advising the Filipino troops as well as working on engineering projects, such as repairing roads and digging wells.