U.S. Files Indictments Against Abu Sayyaf Members

July 23, 2002

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States on Tuesday charged five members of the Philippine extremist group Abu Sayyaf in connection with the death of a U.S. missionary last month.

Sources said the five Abu Sayyaf members indicted are connected to the killing of American missionary Martin Burnham last month during a rescue attempt. His wife, Gracia, was wounded in the gun battle but was rescued.

Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson announced the charges at a Washington news conference.

Abu Sayyaf has been linked by U.S. officials to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network.

Earlier this month, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said the United States and the Philippines would hold another round of military maneuvers after the six-month counter-terrorism training exercise ends on July 31.

The joint exercises, which started early this year, represented the first expansion of the U.S.-led war on terror beyond Afghanistan.

More than 1,200 U.S. troops have been training Filipino soldiers in jungle warfare and counterterrorism in the Southern Philippines to help them defeat the Muslim Abu Sayyaf extremists.

The United States has linked the Islamic militant group, which is notorious for its kidnappings, with the al Qaeda terror network. Since 1997, the United States has designated Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization.

In June, rebel leader Abu Sabaya was killed in a firefight between Philippine naval special forces and Abu Sayyaf rebels.

President Bush had praised Arroyo for her fight on the war against terror after the leader was killed. Sabaya played a major role in the abduction last year of American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham.

Martin Burnham and Ediborah Yap were killed in the shootout when the Philippine military came across rebels in the jungle and began firing. Gracia Burnham survived the rescue operation.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/07/23/philippines.rebels.charges/index.html