The Abu Sayyaf Muslim guerilla group claimed over local radio Saturday they had taken over a church and hospital on Basilan island in the southern Philippines and were holding 200 people hostage.
"We are part of the Abu Sayyaf suicide squad. We are now in control of a church and hospital here with around 200 hostages," a spokesman for the notorious kidnapping group told Radio Mindanao Network, based in the southern city of Zamboanga.
