WORLD NEWS BRIEFS

PHILIPPINES / American fled, not freed

A kidnapped American teen escaped from suspected al-Qaida-linked militants and wandered for two days in a southern Philippine jungle before villagers found him, ending his five-month captivity, officials said Sunday. Kevin Lunsmann, 14, of Campbell County, Va., fled after telling his captors that he was going to bathe in a stream, police Senior Supt. Edwin de Ocampo said. The boy is exhausted and has bruises on his arms and feet, de Ocampo said. U.S. Ambassador Harry Thomas said the boy would be reunited with his family soon. Initial reports had said the boy was freed by his captors. The boy, his mother, Gerfa Yeatts Lunsmann, and a Filipino cousin were vacationing on an island near Zamboanga City when they were snatched July 12 for ransom. The mother was freed two months ago, and the cousin escaped last month.

IRAN / Official: We'll keep drone

Iran will not return a U.S. surveillance drone captured by its armed forces, a senior commander of the country's elite Revolutionary Guard said Sunday. Gen. Hossein Salami, deputy head of the Guard, said in remarks broadcast on state television that the violation of Iran's airspace by the U.S. drone was a "hostile act" and warned of a "bigger" response. Iranian TV showed video Thursday of Iranian military officials with what they identified as the RQ-170 Sentinel. U.S. officials have acknowledged losing a drone but said U.S. intel reports show the drone malfunctioned and was not forced down by Iran.

SOUTH KOREA / Deadly sea patrol

South Korean officials say a coast guard officer stabbed by the Chinese captain of a boat stopped today for suspected illegal fishing in South Korean waters has died. Coast guard officials say another South Korean officer was also stabbed and is in a hospital in Incheon. The attack happened in the Yellow Sea, which is rich in blue crabs, anchovies and croaker. There was no immediate comment from the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing.