Abu Sayyaf Kills 2 'avon' Hostages

Fighters from the Muslim extremist group the Abu Sayyaf have beheaded two of the six Jehovah's Witnesses they kidnapped this week on the southern Philippine island of Jolo, the army said yesterday.

The two men were among eight people kidnapped on Tuesday while on a trip selling Avon cosmetics, herbal products and medical supplies.

The army commander on the island, Brigadier-General Romeo Tolentino, said the men's heads were left in plastic bags in a market in the island's main town, also called Jolo.

A note left next to one of the heads denounced the men as "infidels" and added: "This is what will happen to those who do not believe in Allah."

"This is a barbaric act by a barbaric group," Brig Tolentino said. "The kidnappers are terrorists, animals and barbarians. They are just trying to justify their atrocities."

About 2,000 Philippine soldiers, including elite troops who have just received six months' training from US special forces on the neighbouring island of Basilan, have been deployed to find the remaining prisoners.

Abu Sayyaf quickly freed two of the four men kidnapped when they learned that they were Muslims. The four women, one of whom is related to one of the executed men, remain in captivity.

A spokesman for the Jehovah's Witnesses in the southern Philippines said the eight were not proselytising but were simply on a sales trip.

The Abu Sayyaf claims to be fighting for a Muslim homeland but does little besides kidnap people for ransom. The army said yesterday that only "splinter groups" remained on Jolo, and the group did not present a serious threat.

Jolo has been one of the Abu Sayyaf's two strongholds for years. The 1,600 American soldiers who took part in the exercises that ended last month helped to loosen the bandits' grip on Basilan, their other key area, significantly.

Hundreds of US troops remain on Basilan. New exercises, beginning in October, are expected to focus on Jolo.