Philippine officials say a Red Cross worker from Switzerland has been rescued from al-Qaida-linked militants on a southern island three months after he and two other volunteers were kidnapped.

At least seven civilians, including four children, and an off-duty soldier were killed during a military operation against al-Qaida-linked militants on a southern Philippine island, officials said today.

Muslim extremists beheaded at least two of six Jehovah’s Witnesses they kidnapped in the southern Philippines and dumped their heads in a public market, authorities said today.

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.