Sayyafs seize Basilan woman

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 2, 2010) – Suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels abducted a woman on Tuesday after stopping a jitney in the restive province of Basilan in the southern Philippines, police and military reports said.

It said the rebels under Nur Hassan Jamiri flagged down the vehicle near Ungkaya Pukan town and seized Rose Baranda. The motive of the abduction is unknown, but the Abu Sayyaf was linked to many kidnappings-for-ransom in the past in the troubled province, just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City.

Although no group or individual claimed responsibility for the abduction, the military said Jamiri heads a faction of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.

The group was also tied to terrorism in the southern Philippines and is on the top list of the country’s law enforcement agencies. Kidnappings and terrorism are not uncommon in Basilan where dozens of soldiers had been killed in attacks the past years. (Mindanao Examiner)