He said they have hugged the shorelines of islands as much as possible. The Abu Sayyaf gunmen seized the tourists from the Dos Palmas resort off Palawan Island, on the western edge of the Sulu Sea. Jolo and Basilan islands lie at the sea's southeast corner, about 350 miles away. The island were the grenade-laden boat was reported seen Wednesday night is near Cagayan. Adan said the U.S. government offered to help the Philippines search for the 20 hostages.
Ongoing talks focus on U.S. loans of equipment to hunt down the rebels.
Adan said the military lacks aerial and nighttime reconnaissance capability. He emphasized the complexity of the search, saying the area where the Abu Sayyaf operates is scattered with more than 60 islands. The Abu Sayyaf, which claims to be fighting for a separate Muslim state in this predominantly Roman Catholic country, seized 10 foreign tourists about a year ago from a Malaysian resort. Most were released for millions of dollars in ransoms, reportedly paid by Libya. Adan said Thursday that the military has had 226 clashes with the Abu Sayyaf since last year's kidnapping, killing 54 soldiers and 357 guerrillas.