• Site  Freed hostage recounts nightmare in captivity
Associated Press Published Sunday, June 17, 2001   Later, the
rebel leader told his captives Sobero had been beheaded, said
Francis Ganzon, one of three Filipino hostages freed by the
rebels and reunited with their families Saturday.  Philippine
soldiers hunting the rebels on the Philippines' southern Basilan
Island found no trace of Sobero's body, keeping alive slim hopes
that the rebels, who announced his slaying Tuesday, were only
bluffing.  Ganzon, a Muslim cleric and a 13-year-old girl were
freed by the rebels Thursday and walked through the jungles of
Basilan before reaching safety the next evening. On Saturday, a
plane flew them from Zamboanga to the capital, Manila.  ''I'm
happy I'll be seeing my family again,'' Ganzon told The
Associated Press as he boarded the plane. ''It was a near-death
experience. Nightmarish. This has to end.''  The Abu Sayyaf
guerrillas still hold two dozen other hostages on Basilan,
including two other Americans.  Ganzon r