Gunmen free 38 hostages

Armed men who hijacked a ferry with 42 people on board released all passengers but kept four sailors in apparent revenge against a local militia, the military said.

The gang on board five speedboats seized the ferry Thursday as it plied the small islands in Basilan, said Col. Juvenal Narcise, the area military commander.

He said the gang released the 38 passengers before midnight Friday but kept the captain and three crew members from nearby Tapiantana island, apparently to avenge the death of gang members last month in a clash with a Tapiantana militia.

Police said the abductors were likely members of the Abu Sayyaf, an extremist Muslim group that rose to infamy last year when it took foreign tourists hostage.

On April 24, a Tapiantana militia waged a two-hour firefight with Abu Sayyaf members, leaving 19 dead, the military said. It was not clear how many fighters each side lost.

"These people who captured the boat owner apparently have some kind of feud with Tapiantana residents," Narcise said.

He said the military is searching for the remaining hostages.

The area is one of the most violent in the Philippines, plagued by gun proliferation and shootouts.

The Abu Sayyaf, which says it is fighting to carve a separate Islamic state out of the area, darts between the remote, jungle-covered islands to attack the military and hide hostages. Militias patrol many of the villages.

The abduction took place Thursday afternoon but was reported only late Friday because the captured boat, like most of the transport plying the tiny islands in the area, had no radio or navigation equipment.

On Tuesday, dozens of gunmen armed with assault rifles and rocket launchers, tried to storm a tourist resort in the southern Mindanao region. Security guards fought them off but two resort workers were killed and three security guards were injured.

Investigators originally said they suspected Abu Sayyaf members but Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon claimed they were mere pirates trying to capture a speedboat that services the holiday island.

A little more than a year ago, the Abu Sayyaf raided a Malaysian tourist resort and took 10 foreign tourists hostage. They also took other hostages in a series of incidents in the southern Philippines. All the hostages have since been freed, some reportedly for large ransoms.

In early April, President Arroyo ordered "all-out war" on the Abu Sayyaf and the military attacked with artillery, infantry and helicopters. Military officials said the Abu Sayyaf has regrouped in the last two weeks as the military was called off to guard voting in May 14 midterm elections. — Roel Pareño, Jaime Laude