ZAMBOANGA CITY, 13 August 2006 — Seven people were reported killed yesterday as security forces fought with suspected Abu Sayyaf militants in a failed bid to rescue two hostages in the southern island of Jolo.

Military commanders said the dead included businesswoman Jacky Selvin, 58, and her son Jeffrey Selvin, 27, who were snatched from downtown Jolo on July 27.

Four kidnappers and one police officer were also killed in the ensuing gunbattle in the island’s town of Indanan, where troops were battling the terrorist group tied to the Indonesian Jemaah Islamiya network, officials said.

Brig. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, deputy commander of military’s Southern Command based in Zamboanga City, said security forces attempted to rescue the woman after local residents found the son’s severed head in front of the police headquarters in downtown Jolo early yesterday.

Dolorfino said the soldiers did rescue the woman but she died later from a stab wound.

A local radio reported that a headless corpse believed to be that of Jeffery was later found in the town of Patikul town, also in Jolo Island.

The mother and son had owned a bakery and a pawnshop in the main town on Jolo island.

Dolorfino said the trader and her son were taken at gunpoint outside their home last month. The gunmen demanded a 10-million-peso ($195,000) ransom, lowering the amount to 6 million pesos later, but the demand was apparently unmet by the victims’ family.

Brig. Gen. Alexander Aleo, the island’s military chief, said troops were pursuing the rest of the kidnap suspects, who are strongly believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf.

Abu Sayyaf leaders had earlier repeatedly told local media that they were not averse to engaging in kidnapping and robbery to pursue their goal, which is to establish an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines.

The group has been disavowed by mainstream Muslim armed groups, including the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is current talking peace with the Philippine government.

In June, suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen freed a kidnapped 41-year old pharmacy owner Bren Vergara after more than two months in captivity after their family allegedly paid more than one million pesos in ransom. The man was snatched April 12 together with his ailing 70-year old mother Caridad Vergara, who had been earlier freed near Jolo town.

Officials said both hostages were tortured by their guards during their captivity in the mountain and the man was beaten so badly to the point that he nearly died. Gunmen snatched the duo outside their pharmacy store in downtown Jolo.

In August 2002, the Abu Sayyaf also beheaded two male members of a Jehovah’s Witness, a Christian sect, two days after militants kidnapped them and four other women in Jolo.

Their severed heads were found inside plastic bags containing notes calling for “jihad against infidel and non-believers of Islam” in the main market in Jolo town. Their relatives said the six were not on Jolo to proselytize the island’s Muslim population, but only selling cosmetics and herbal teas to supplement their income.