Militants kill 5 Philippine marines in ambush

Militants kill 5 Philippine marines in ambush

MANILA, Philippines -- Al-Qaida-linked militants holding an Italian Red Cross worker captive killed five Philippine marines and wounded 10 others in an ambush Saturday on a southern island. One police officer was wounded.



Also in the south, the military said fighting with a different militant group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, left 10 dead and 20 wounded on Friday.

About 40 militants from the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group attacked marines and special operations police pursuing Abu Sayyaf gunmen holding 62-year-old Eugenio Vagni outside Parang township on Jolo island, said marines spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo.

"They were treacherously fired upon," Arevalo said.

He said the militants, who attacked with high-powered firearms and grenades, also suffered an undetermined number of deaths.

There was no word on Vagni, who is suffering from hypertension and hernia. He marked his 150th day in captivity Saturday.

Vagni was one of three International Committee of the Red Cross workers kidnapped on Jolo, an impoverished Muslim region 590 miles (950 kilometers) south of Manila, on Jan. 15. Abu Sayyaf militants have freed the two others -- Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba and Swiss Andreas Notter.

In a statement Thursday, ICRC Asia-Pacific operations chief Alain Aeschlimann appealed to the kidnappers to release Vagni "safe and sound, unconditionally and without delay."

He said Vagni last called his wife on June 2.

The Abu Sayyaf, which has about 400 fighters, is on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations because of its al-Qaida links and many terrorist attacks, including those that have victimized Americans.

The group and its allies have turned to kidnappings to make money in recent years, raising concerns among Philippine and U.S. security officials that ransom payments could revive the group, which has been weakened by years of U.S.-backed offensives.

Friday's fighting between the military and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels left 10 guerrillas dead, said Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, spokesman for the army's 6th Infantry Division. He said there were no government casualties in the fighting near Talayan and Guindulungan townships in Maguindanao province.

Soldiers have been clashing with the rebels since last week, when they captured a large rebel camp in a village near Guindulungan and killed 30 guerrillas.

Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu has denied a camp was captured and said only nine guerrillas were wounded. He could not be reached Saturday.

The rebels have been fighting the Philippine government since the early 1970s for Muslim self-rule largely based on the main southern island of Mindanao. Peace talks broke down last year.