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Breaking News

Martin Burnham Killed During Rescue Attempt

Aired June 07, 2002 - 05:00   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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: We start with breaking news out of the Philippines. It involves Martin and Gracia Burnham, an American missionary couple held hostage by a militant rebel group. Just a little while ago there was a rescue attempt.

Our Maria Ressa joins us now on the phone with details -- Maria.

MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, there was a fierce firefight between the Filipino soldiers and the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers, an al Qaeda linked group that's been holding the Burnhams since they were kidnapped on May 27. Martin Burnham was killed in that firefight. His wife Gracia was wounded, was rescued by Filipino troops. She was brought to the hospital at the Southern Command in Zamboanga City. She's been declared out of danger, according to the Marine Brigadier General Emmanuel Teodosion -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And, Maria, how did the soldiers get wind of exactly where they were. How did they know how to target the particular area where they did in order to make that rescue attempt?

RESSA: This rescue operation is actually part of a much larger force by the Philippines. More than 5,000 soldiers have been there for more than a year and a half. The mission, really, is to wipe out the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf. There was a special team trained by the United States, a light reaction company that's equipped with high tech equipment that was, that fanned out in that area. They seem to be largely responsible for the rescue attempt.

But part of the problem, of course, is that one of the reasons U.S. and Filipino soldiers took such a long time to get them was they said that they wanted to get the rescue and to get both of these hostages out safely.

WHITFIELD: Now, Maria, do we know any more about the details as to how Martin was killed in this rescue attempt?

RESSA: There's a press conference that's going on even as we speak that's being given by the armed forces spokesman. Very sketchy details. There's also another woman that's been hostage with them. She was kidnapped a month later. That's Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap. We're still waiting to hear any more details about her. What we do know is that there are about 1,000 U.S. troops still in that area, a total of 160 U.S. special forces. We're waiting to hear about the details of whether there's any involvement they've had.

WHITFIELD: Now, Maria, CNN has spoken to the family members of the Burnham couple. They are devastated and they have issued a "no comment." What, if anything, has been said by Gracia?

RESSA: Gracia has not said anything at this point. She's not been made available to the press. But this is certainly a heartbreaking incident. Keep in mind that this couple have lived in the Philippines for the past 15 years. On May 27, the day they were kidnapped more than a year ago, they were actually at a Palawan, a resort in the southern Philippines, celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary. And over the last year we've seen the two of them lose a lot of weight. They've had several appeals, not just to their families but to the United States and Filipino governments. And what they've said in a very, during a very traumatic ordeal for them is that what's kept them alive through these experiences was there love for each other and their prayers. Both of them, as you said, are Christian missionaries.

So we can only hazard a guess at what Gracia Burnham must be going through now. She will, we will have some time to get to her later on. But it must be devastating given the experiences that she's gone through.

WHITFIELD: Oh, to say the very least.

Now, what about a ransom? Was a ransom paid? Do we know anything about that?

RESSA: There certainly have been reports about it. This is not the first time the Abu Sayyaf have kidnapped Western hostages. In the year 2000, they made almost a million dollars in ransom from European hostages. And there were reports earlier this year that about $300,000 had been paid by the family of the Burnhams. That was confirmed by U.S. and Filipino authorities that that was paid through emissaries, but that, according to the family, the Abu Sayyaf had reneged on that deal. Subsequently to that, Abu Sayyaf denied that they ever got any of that money.

So it's very unclear. What characterizes this, though, is how murky the situation is in the southern Philippines and how difficult it is to trust anyone there and in particular in a situation like this how even a rescue effort could be seen as a very negative thing for the hostages who are there.

WHITFIELD: Now, Maria, one more time, you said a press conference is forthcoming and expected in attendance, Gracia?

RESSA: It's -- not with Gracia. The conference is being given in Manila at the armed forces headquarters here. It's being given by the armed forces chief. Gracia Burnham is being held in a hospital in the southern Philippines, which is roughly an hour and a half away by plane from the capital. She has not been presented to the press yet.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you very much, Maria Ressa, for that update.

So, just recapping one more time, a couple who had been held hostage in the Philippines, the Burnhams, Martin and Gracia Burnham, apparently in a rescue attempt, Martin Burnham has been killed. We don't have details on how that took place. And Gracia is now being held at a hospital in, just south of Manila. And a little bit later on this morning or later today, we should say, a press conference will be taking place to give more details on that rescue attempt and that killing of Martin Burnham.

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