Philippines: Abu-Sayyaf killings prompt crackdown

The Philippine army, outraged by the beheadings of seven Abu Sayyaf hostages whose heads were delivered to troops on southern Jolo island, ordered its units Friday to intensify efforts to wipe out the "barbaric" insurgents. The men - six road project workers and a dried-fish factory worker - were kidnapped at gunpoint by the al-Qaida-linked operatives in two separate incidents Monday near the town of Parang, 960 kilometers (600 miles) south of Manila, the military said.