Philippine troops find beheaded Vietnamese captives in southern island of Basilan

Philippine soldiers have found the beheaded bodies of two Vietnamese sailors abducted a year ago by Islamist militant Abu Sayyaf group near the restive southern island of Basilan, an army spokeswoman said today.

Six Vietnamese sailors were taken captive after Abu Sayyaf militants attacked their cargo ship in June last year, but one was rescued last month during a combat operation.

The two bodies were retrieved at about 7 a.m. (0430 IST) on Tuesday near the island's town of Sumisip, said Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay, spokeswoman of the Western Mindanao Command.

"Our troops found the headless bodies after local residents alerted us about the cadavers," Petinglay told reporters, adding that the heads were found beside the bodies.

The men had been identified as Hoang Thong and Hoang Va Hai, both crew of the ship MV Royal 16, Petinglay said, adding, "We have informed the Vietnamese embassy in Manila."

Three more Vietnamese captives still in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf are among 14 foreigners and eight Philippine citizens still held on Basilan and nearby Jolo island, Petinglay said.

Elsewhere in the southern region, intense fighting with a larger group of pro-Islamic State militants who seized Marawi City has dragged on for six weeks, killing more than 400 people, including 85 security forces.

The dead include 39 civilians, but local officials said the number could be higher as intense fighting has denied authorities access to the centre of the city.

Military planes and helicopters have been dropping bombs and firing rockets on militants occupying high-rise buildings in the city's commercial centre. Marines and army rangers fought militants in house-to-house combat to retake the city.

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said there is pressure on the military to defeat the Islamist militants before a 60-day period of martial law expires on July 23, a day before the president delivers his state of the nation address in Congress.

"In my estimate, the clearing operations will take at least a week," he said on Tuesday, adding that the enemy's resistance was waning as troops gain control of more strategic positions.

Lorenzana said the Philippines last week sent a military plane to the United States to acquire an unspecified number and type of bombs and rockets intended to replenish the country's weapons stockpile, depleted by almost daily bombings in Marawi.