10 rebels die as hostages freed in Philippines

Isabela - At least 10 Muslim Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed in clashes with Philippine soldiers in the southern island of Basilan…

Isabela - At least 10 Muslim Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed in clashes with Philippine soldiers in the southern island of Basilan, where four Filipino hostages were rescued yesterday.

A seven-year-old boy was also killed while his father and a woman and her son were wounded as the fleeing rebels indiscriminately fired on a cluster of huts, the military said. The rebels are still holding nine Filipinos and a US Christian missionary couple, Martin and Gracia Burnham, in Basilan's rough jungle terrain.