Philippines kidnappers who beheaded US hostage jailed

Fourteen Islamist militants were jailed for life by a Philippines court today for the kidnapping of US missionary couple and the beheading of another American after an audacious raid on a holiday island resort.

Each of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf terrorists were given 20 life sentences for their part in the attack, which spurred the US to send troops to the Philippines to help root out the small but deadly force of separatist guerrillas.

Guillermo Sobero, from California, who was on holiday with his Filipina girlfriend, was beheaded by his captors within weeks of being seized in May 2001.

Missionary Graham Burnham was killed a year later along with a Filipina nurse in a shootout between troops and the militants during an ill-fated rescue attempt.

Mr Burnham's wife, Gracia, was shot in the leg but survived the protracted ordeal and went on to write a controversial book accusing the Philippines military of aiding the militants and attempting to siphon off some of the million-dollar ransom.

Robert Courtney, the US Justice Department's attache at the Manila embassy, today commended the Philippines for the trial. "It sends a strong message about the capability of the Philippine law enforcement to deal with terrorist activities through the criminal justice system," he said.

One of the former hostages, Angelica Montealegre, echoed the praise but expressed concern that some Abu Sayyaf guerrillas remained at large.

The Burnhams, who worked as missionaries for 17 years, were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at the ritzy Dos Palmas resort on the western Philippines island of Palawan when they were snatched at gunpoint.

The Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, toting M-16 assault rifles, struck in the night, taking 20 guests and Filipino staff hostage and ferrying them 300 miles in fast speed boats to militant strongholds on the islands of Jolo and Basilan.

Two weeks later the rebels announced the beheading of Mr Sobero "as a gift to the country on [its] independence day". A number of the Filipino hostages escaped and four others were later freed.

But the Burnhams, from Kansas, were constantly moved through dense jungles and swamps so their captors could evade troops tracking them. At night the handcuffed hostages were chained to trees to prevent escape.

As they evaded the soldiers hunting them, the Abu Sayyaf group negotiated ransom demands and eventually received $954,000 (£477,000), more than one third of which was raised by the Burnham's church in the US.

Eighty-five suspects were originally charged with the kidnapping, though only 23 were captured and finally put on trial in 2003. Four died in a botched prison break in 2005, while another was released for lack of evidence.

Today, 17 men and one woman were brought to the Manila courthouse in handcuffs by heavily-armed police. Four were acquitted, though three remain in custody facing other charges not connected with the kidnapping.

Mrs Burnham briefly returned to the Philippines in 2004 to give evidence against her captors during a trial that stretched nearly four years. In a book about her ordeal, In the Presence of My Enemies, she alleges links between Philippine officials and the guerrillas, saying a Filipino general tried to keep part of the ransom money, and soldiers delivered supplies to the guerrillas.

Abu Sayyaf has carved out a reputation for ruthlessness in the mainly Catholic Philippines, though most of its leadership has been killed. It staged the country's deadliest terrorist attack when 116 people were killed in a bomb attack on a passenger ferry in Manila Bay in 2004.

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