Hostages in Philippines fear dying in rescue raid

MANILA, Philippines -- An American missionary couple held hostage by Muslim extremists in the Philippine jungle said in a letter that paying a ransom may be their only route to freedom and that they feared dying in a military rescue, a television station reported Wednesday.

The letter was from Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kan., who have been held by Abu Sayyaf rebels for more than eight months, to Gracia's sister, and ABS-CBN said it had obtained a copy, which it showed on the air.

The Burnhams also addressed their children -- Jeff, Mindy and Zach -- in the letter, saying they prayed to be home soon, ABS-CBN said.

"Jeff," Martin Burnham wrote, "I wanted to watch the World Series then the Super Bowl with you, but I even don't know who played. ... I'm praying that God will give us some more good times together."

The station reported that Gracia Burnham said her husband had lost so much weight that she "could not bear looking at him anymore."

ABS-CBN, the Philippines most respected network, did not say how it obtained a copy of the letter. It appeared that both Burnhams had written separately on ruled paper, and two different handwritings could be seen in the images broadcast. The sister to whom the letter was written, Mary Jones, visited the Philippines late last month to plead for their release.

The Abu Sayyaf rebels are believed to have links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network. They are holding the Burnhams and Filipino nurse Deborah Yap on southern Basilan island. Earlier, they beheaded another American hostage, Guillermo Sobero of Corona, Calif.

The Burnhams wrote they feared a military assault to free them.

"We are caught in the middle," Gracia Burnham wrote. "The Abu Sayyaf will not let us go without ransom."