MANILA (CWNews.com) - An Islamic rebel group in the southern Philippines said today it is prepared to release 15 of 33 Catholic schoolchildren it kidnapped several weeks ago.

    The Abu Sayyaf guerillas made the promise hours after another group freed the wife and infant daughter of the rebel group's leader. Khadafy Janjanali's wife and daughter were kidnapped in retaliation for the abduction of the children, their teachers, and a priest. More than 70 people were originally kidnapped from two high schools on Basilan island on March 20.

    They released an initial batch of 20 on the same day and 21 more in succeeding days. Four days after the kidnapping, local vigilantes headed by the bodyguard of the Basilan provincial governor seized 11 Abu Sayyaf supporters, including Janjanali's wife and daughter, to pressure the rebels into releasing their hostages.

    Abu Sayyaf had initially demanded that all negotiations be mediated by the Vatican, but Catholic leaders convinced them to talk to local Catholic representatives. Several Islamic groups are fighting to form an independent homeland in the southern Philippines.