A Muslim extremist group that snatched 20 people, including three Americans, from an island resort in the Philippines threatened today to kill all the hostages if the military moves attempt to rescue them.

A Philippines Muslim rebel leader has offered to kill an ailing US hostage if Iraqi President Saddam Hussein asks him to.

An American hostage held by Muslim terrorists in the Philippines is seriously ill, a spokesman for the rebel Abu Sayyaf group said today.

Four suspected Muslim gunmen have kidnapped a six-year-old British girl in the southern Philippines after her mother could not meet their demand for cash.