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American Morning

Hostage Missionary Killed in Philippines

Aired June 07, 2002 - 09:03   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: "Up Front" this morning, an American missionary was killed today during a hostage rescue in the Philippines. His wife was wounded, but she is free this morning. Martin and Gracia Burnham were held hostage for more than a year by Abu Sayyaf, a rebel group with ties to al Qaeda. Philippine troops stormed their hideout and shot it out with the rebels this morning. We will talk with the spokesperson for the family momentarily.

First to the Philippines by telephone.

Maria Ressa is tracking the story.

MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Filipino troops -- a special troop trained by the United States. U.S. troops over the last couple of months engaged the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf. They saw the hostages that were held over the year. During the intense firefight, all three hostages were killed. Martin was killed. Gracia was wounded in the leg and is in stable condition there. It's after 9:00 in the evening here. The brigadier general says they plan to move her to Manila later this evening, where immediate family members are making plans to meet her. The body of her husband Martin will be flown back to the United States at the request of the family -- Bill.

HEMMER: Maria, was there any confirmation as to whether U.S. troops may have been involved in this?

RESSA: The Philippine military said the U.S. troops were not involved in the rescue attempt. They did train the team, called the "light reaction team," that went in and did the rescue operation. It seems this was well-planned; troops had been in surveillance over the past few days. It was a very conscious decision to engage the Abu Sayyaf at this point in time.

HEMMER: Maria, thank you -- by telephone, in the Philippines.

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