ZAMBOANGA CITY?Boys as young as 15 years old carried out the kidnapping of four peace advocates on Basilan island but two of the hostages later escaped during pursuit operations against the kidnappers, police said Tuesday.

In Manila, the military said the kidnappers were believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf bandit group.

As of Tuesday, police said the kidnappers were still holding two female captives?Esperancita Hupida and Merlie ?Milet? Mendoza. The two women have been involved in humanitarian work in Mindanao, helping people in strife-torn areas rebuild their lives.

The peace workers were abducted in Tipo-Tipo around noon Monday. Two of them escaped Monday night, according to Senior Supt. Salik Macapantar, Basilan police chief.

Macapantar identified the two hostages who escaped as Ludovina Borja-Dekit of the Sustainable Health Improvements through Empowerment and Local Development (SHIELD), and driver Dionisio Estandarte.

Macapantar said the two were able to ?extricate (themselves) from their captors? while police, soldiers and local officials were pursuing the kidnappers at Limbo Pas village in Tipo-Tipo.

Aged 15, 16

Separate accounts from military and Church officials indicated that the four peace workers were in a group of about a dozen people riding in a van and a pickup truck on their way to Isabela City when they were seized.

At around 11:45 a.m. Monday, ?10 teenagers aged 15 and 16, flagged down their vehicles? in the village of Kabangalan, Macapantar said, quoting a report from the Tipo-Tipo police.

?We cannot really say if the kidnappers are Abu Sayyaf because they were very young,? he said.

At gunpoint, ?these minors? ordered all those in the van and the pickup to get off, Macapantar said.

He said that at about the same time, a passenger vehicle drove by, enabling those in the van to drive away and escape being captured.

Others left behind

Six people were left behind in the pickup truck and detained by the teenaged gang. They included Mendoza, Hupida, Dekit, Estandarte, Sahida Alasa and Romeo delos Reyes, according to the police.

As the ?teenager-kidnappers scampered to flee the area,? Alasa and Delos Reyes were able to break loose from the group, Macapantar said.

At around 8 p.m. Monday, while the police, the Marines and local officials led by Vice Governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul and Tipo-Tipo Mayor Tong Istarul were in pursuit, two of the hostages?Dekit and Estandarte?also succeeded in breaking away, Macapantar said.

Macapantar gave no details except to say that the pursuit operation apparently ?put pressure on the young captors,? enabling Dekit and Estandarte to flee.

Milet won?t leave her behind

Based on Dekit?s and Estandarte?s accounts, ?Hupida had difficulty moving quickly because she has a problem with her leg ... Mendoza did not want to leave Hupida behind,? Macapantar said.

Other sources gave a slightly different account of what happened and also differed with Macapantar on the number of hostages taken.

In a radio interview, Rear Adm. Emilio Marayag, Naval Forces Western Mindanao commander, said five people were taken hostage while seven others managed to avoid being taken by the armed gang.

Marayag said the kidnappers were led by Nurhassan Jamiri and Pujuri Indama of the Abu Sayyaf.

Pursuit called off

Fr. Angel Calvo, president of Nagdilaab Foundation, where Hupida works, also said that five hostages were taken.

Calvo, in a phone interview, said seven other people ?were able to flee from the kidnappers as soon as they sensed that something wrong was going to happen.?

According to Calvo?s version, Delos Reyes, Estandarte and Dekit escaped on Monday night. Calvo said Alasa was not among those taken by the abductors.

In Manila, the military said that pursuit operations against the kidnappers had been halted to give way to negotiations.

Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo, spokesperson of the Philippine Navy, said the operations were suspended for now on the request of a crisis committee composed of military, police and local officials.

He said the committee was exploring the possibility of negotiating the release of the remaining hostages.

?We can immediately shift to rescue mode once given the signal ... But we hope that it doesn?t get to that and our local leaders secure their safe release,? Arevalo said.

He also said there had been no ransom demand for the remaining hostages.

Arevalo said the kidnappers were Abu Sayyaf members under Indama.

He said photos and videos of the Abu Sayyaf members were shown to the victims who, he said, confirmed that some of the faces in the photos and videos were those of their kidnappers.

?What is alarming is that there were young boys, as young as around 12 years old. They (victims) estimated their ages as between 12 and 19, or teenagers,? he said.