ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) - Thirty-one people, including Muslim guerrillas linked to brutal beheadings, escaped in a massive jailbreak that also left 3 people dead in Isabela City, Basilan province on Sunday, a police official said.

According to initial reports, at least 30 armed men, some of whom were reportedly members of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), forcibly entered the premises of the Basilan Provincial Jail around 1:45 a.m.

One guard and an outsider assisting in the escape were killed in a brief gun battle at the provincial jail, said regional police deputy director Senior Superintendent Rolando Purruganan.

Detainees had created a hole in the rear wall of the prison, with the aid of the armed men, through which they fled into nearby forests, said Purruganan.

Among those who escaped were 2 MILF members who beheaded 10 of 14 Philippine Marines in an ambush in Basilan in July 2007, said the police official.

He added it was not yet known if any of those who escaped were members of the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim extremist group that is active in Basilan and has been blamed for the worst terror attacks in Philippine history.

In an interview on ANC’s “Dateline Philippines Sunday,” Basilan Vice-Governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul confirmed that the “high risk prisoners” who bolted the Basilan jail belong to the Abu Sayyaf and MILF groups.

The Abu Sayyaf, which intelligence agencies have linked to the al-Qaeda network, still operates in the forests of Basilan.

Sakalahul also confirmed that some “MILF regulars” helped in the escape of the prisoners. He said the armed men were able to enter the facility by destroying the jail’s security fence.

“There are 31 inmates 'rescued' by the MILF. All these are high risk prisoners belonging to the Abu Sayyaf and MILF. I just received information that one or 2 escapees might be recovered by the PNP (Philippine National Police). But we still have to evaluate this information and there is no confirmation yet,” Sakalahul said.

The jail is holding a total of 64 inmates, 31 of whom escaped, according to the local official.

He said military and police forces are now on red alert as they launched hot pursuit operations.

“We have established contact with some MILF leaders to help us in monitoring, especially those who belong to other faction, the Abu Sayyaf, [and] for them to turn them over to us,” Sakalahul added.

Martial law in Basilan?

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales is set to seek an audience with Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad regarding the current situation in Basilan.

Gonzales said he wants to see for himself what can be done in Basilan, especially in the wake of series of kidnappings, and recently the escape of 31 inmates, in the province.

“In Maguindanao, we have successfully restored the rule of law,” he said. “There are qualifications to declare martial law, or even the state of emergency. But I assure you that as far as the assessment of the department, there is no plan to declare a martial rule in Basilan.”

Earlier, Jumoad said he favored the declaration of martial rule in the province following the beheading of a plywood worker and abduction of a school official.

On Tuesday, the head of Marquez Singson, a plywood worker, was recovered near a plaza. On Thursday, meantime, Basilan State College vice-president Orland Fajardo was abducted by armed men also in Isabela City. –With a report from Agence France-Presse