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Philippine Military Bomb Abu Sayyaf-Held Areas
Philippine military planes started bombing areas held by the Abu Sayyaf on the southern island of Jolo at dawn Saturday, the ABS-CBN TV station reported.
Residents in Jolo town could see warplanes flying overhead and hear the sound of bombing of Abu Sayyaf's jungle lairs some 20 kilometers away from the town, it said.
So far, there is no official confirmation yet of the military attack on bases of the Abu Sayyaf, which is now holding hostage two French journalists, one American, three Malaysians and 13 Filipinos.
But the ABS-CBN said President Joseph Estrada may issue a statement in two hours.
The station quoted the mayor of Jolo town as saying that the town has been put on double red alert and that the town hall has been full of evacuees since Friday night.
It said troops were seen ferried to Jolo, adding that transportation has been cut off to Sulu Province, whose capital is Jolo town, since Friday and communications with Jolo has also been cut off since six o'clock Saturday morning.
There are lots of activities by the military in the Edwin Andrews Air Base in the city of Zamboanga, some 150 kilometers northeast of Jolo, according to the ABS-CBN.
Government negotiations with the Abu Sayyaf over the release of the hostages have been called off, it added.
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