Philippines: General has high hopes for rescue of hostages

Chances of rescuing two Americans held hostage by Muslim extremists will increase during a six-month counter-terrorism training mission involving U.S. troops, the Philippine military spokesman said Friday.

Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said sophisticated surveillance and communications equipment brought by U.S. forces could increase the mobility of Filipino troops pursuing Abu Sayyaf guerrillas.

The exercise, aimed at wiping out the Abu Sayyaf, involves 660 U.S. troops. That includes 160 from the Special Forces assigned to various Philippine combat units on Basilan island, where the guerrillas hold American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham from Wichita, Kan., and Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap.

“There is a big chance that during this period … the Burnhams would be eventually recovered and the Abu Sayyaf will be weakened,” Adan said.

North Carolina: Soldier’s wife brutally slain

The wife of a Special Forces soldier on duty in Afghanistan was savagely killed inside her home two weeks after telling a co-worker her phone lines had been cut in the middle of the night.

Angie Mosden, 40, was killed early Thursday by someone who smashed in the glass doors and beat her with a baseball bat before stabbing her. Police in Fayetteville said two of the couple’s three daughters were home and one, 12-year-old Laura, tried to stop the attack before she fled.

Sgt. Maj. Richard Mosden was expected to return home as early as Friday to bury his wife.

Sheriff’s officials said there was no evidence indicating the slaying was related to Mosden’s military duties.

Two weeks ago, a man knocked on Mosden’s door at 4 a.m. and claimed he had a delivery, Epler said.

“She wouldn’t open the door and later that morning when she got up and let the dogs out, she saw footprints in her yard and that her phone lines had been cut,” said Brenda Shaw, the victim’s supervisor at the Wal-Mart store where she worked.

United Nations: Meeting between Iraq, U.N. draws positive reviews

Iraq is signaling a seeming new willingness to admit international weapons inspectors, foreign diplomats and U.N. officials said Friday after a closed-door review of the previous day’s meeting between Iraq’s foreign minister and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

But U.S. officials said they remain highly skeptical of Iraq’s intentions, despite what all sides described as an unexpectedly cordial and “constructive” exchange Thursday.

In nearly four hours of talks, the Iraqis raised legal and logistical questions about compliance with U.N. demands. But in contrast to previous meetings they did not object to the inspections in principle, Annan told the Security Council. Iraq’s concerns were posed as “questions,” not “preconditions,” Annan said Friday.

“We are at a very early stage, so we should not claim success or failure yet,” Annan cautioned in remarks to reporters later. He agreed to meet again with the Iraqis next month.

The United States and Britain, Iraq’s main adversaries on the council, took pains to endorse Annan’s decision to continue talks.