AP
US Special Forces troops in Philippines

U.S. special-forces soldiers are in the southern Philippines for a six-month joint exercise with Filipino forces aimed at crushing the Muslim Abu Sayyaf kidnap gang.

This is the largest counter-terrorism operation by the U.S. military since its war on terrorism began in Afghanistan last year.

Abu Sayyaf, which has been linked to the al-Qaida terrorist network of Osama bin Laden, holds several hostages including two Americans and one Filipina nurse.

Two huge CH-17 Chinook helicopters carrying 30 elite American army troops landed Sunday at a military base near Isabela, the capital of Basilan island.

They are expected to first assess the Philippine military's capabilities in counter-terrorism, and then train and accompany Philippine troops on patrols.

Philippine and U.S. officials say the Americans will not be involved in actual fighting.

Another 500 U.S. soldiers are assigned to support duty for the special-forces group.

The U.S. troops arrived in Basilan one day after a grenade attack at a movie theater in Zamboanga City wounded five people and a bomb at an open-air market on neighboring Jolo Island killed one person and wounded more than 50 others.

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

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