Police said the ransom was relayed by the family of Kenn Lao. Police said it formed a group that would search for the 21-year old victim who is allegedly being held by the Abu Sayyaf after being captured October outside the Notre Dame College in Jolo.
The search for Lao is still continuing, but police and military officials would not give details or progress of the rescue efforts. “I don’t want to talk about the kidnapping, but there are efforts to find him,” General Benjamin Dolorfino, a regional military commander, told reporters.
Police also mounted a search for Lao, but the hostage is believed being transferred from one hideout to another to avoid detection by the authorities.
Lao’s family told police that a man phoned them last week to say that they are holding Lao, who was lured out of his school by a friend whom he was texting and then snatched by armed men. (Mindanao Examiner)
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Sayyaf demands ransom for kidnapped student in South RP
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Sayyaf terror man captured in Basilan province
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 5, 2010) – Police captured a member of the Philippines Abu Sayyaf terrorist group in an operation mounted on Tuesday in Basilan, one of five provinces in the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.
Police said Bidung Esmail was nabbed in Lamitan City shortly before noontime.
It said the terrorist was involved in a raid in Lamitan in 2001 where the Abu Sayyaf seized dozens of civilians and used them as shield against pursuing troops.
Police did not give details about Esmail and it was unknown if his group was planning an attack.
The man, whom police said is wanted for a string of attacks in Basilan, is being interrogated.
The Abu Sayyaf which means “bearer of the sword” has been blamed for the string of terror attacks and kidnappings for ransom in Basilan, Sulu and Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner)
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Troops clash with Sayyafs in Basilan province
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 19, 2010) – An Abu Sayyaf militant was killed in a clash Sunday with Philippine soldiers in the southern province of Basilan, officials said.
Officials said the fighting erupted at dawn on a village in Lantawan town, a known stronghold of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group blamed for the string of attacks and kidnappings in Mindanao.
Troops also recovered an automatic rifle and munitions from the slain militant – Abdulkarim Sali - whose body was brought to Zamboanga City. But the family and relatives of the slain militant denied he was a member of the Abu Sayyaf.
“Abdulkarim Sali is a wanted Abu Sayyaf member and involved in the kidnapping (of three US citizens and over a dozen Filipinos) in Sipadan,” said First Lieutenant Jinky Perez, a regional army spokeswoman.
Perez was referring to a posh resort in Palawan province the Abu Sayyaf raided in 2001. She said Sali was also involved in several kidnappings in Basilan and included in the government’s wanted list. (Mindanao Examiner)
Thursday, September 16, 2010
3 soldiers killed in Sayyaf ambush in southern Philippines
Police said the soldiers were patrolling the village of Bohe Lebung when the militants attacked them at around 6:15 a.m. The soldiers belong to the 32nd Infantry Battalion, it said.
It said the attackers were followers of Nur Hassan Jamiri and Long Sulayman, both had been tagged as behind the spate of ambuscades and kidnappings-for-ransom in Basilan, one of five provinces under the troubled Muslim autonomous region.
The fighting lasted about 30 minutes. It was not immediately known whether any of the ambushers were killed or wounded.
Army troops have been deployed in Basilan, just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City, to help marine and police forces in fighting the insurgents.
Philippine authorities said the Abu Sayyaf also has links with the Indonesian terror group called Jemaah Islamiya. (Mindanao Examiner)
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Comandante Sayyaf muertos en choque de la policía en el sur de Filipinas
La ciudad de Zamboanga, Filipinas (Mindanao Examiner / 5 de septiembre 2010) - Comandos de la policía mató a un sub-líder de Al Qaeda-grupo vinculado con Abu Sayyaf en un enfrentamiento la madrugada del domingo en la sureña provincia filipina de Sulu, dijeron funcionarios el domingo.
Las autoridades dijeron que los combates murieron Gafur Jumdail en la remota aldea de Lapa en Maimbung ciudad antes del amanecer después de que comandos de la élite Fuerza Especial de Acción rastreó el terrorista y su grupo.
"Fuerza de Acción Especial de comandos se enfrentaron con Abu Sayyaf y mató a Gafur Jumdail en el pueblo de Lapa", el comisario jefe José RAMAC, el jefe de policía de Sulu, dijo por teléfono desde su puesto de mando en la provincia.
RAMAC dijo que varios militantes más fueron heridos cree en el choque. No dijo si había bajas en cuanto a la policía.
Jumdail es un hermano del líder de Abu Sayyaf Abu Jumdail Umbra alias Dr. Abu, que también estaba relacionado con el 08 de junio 2008 el secuestro del reportero de la televisión Ces Drilon en Sulu.
Los militantes interceptaron Drilon y sus dos camarógrafos Jimmy Encarnación y Angelo Valderrama, incluyendo su guía el profesor Octavio Dinampo persiguiendo al mismo tiempo una historia exclusiva sobre el Abu Sayyaf, que según las autoridades tiene vínculos también con el grupo militante indonesio Jemaah Islamiya llamado.
Drilon trabaja para el gigante de televisión ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, mientras que Dinampo enseña Ciencias Políticas en la Universidad Estatal de Mindanao.
El Abu Sayyaf fue marcado también como detrás de una emboscada del año pasado de un convoy de la policía, matando al comandante de la policía provincial, comisario jefe Julasirim Kasim y varios otros en la ciudad de Maimbung. (Mindanao Examiner)
Thursday, August 26, 2010
2 Sayyaf terror men arrested in Zamboanga City
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 26, 2010) – Two suspected Abu Sayyaf militants have been arrested by police forces in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, reports said Thursday.
It said the militants, whose group has ties with al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya terror organizations, were arrested on a village called San Roque on Wednesday afternoon.
Police said the two men are facing various criminal charges in Sulu and Basilan provinces.
Details of the police operation that led to the arrest of the duo were not made public, but members of the Special Action Force were behind the capture of the terrorists. (Mindanao Examiner)
Police arrest suspect in failed assassination of Philippine governor
SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 26, 2010) – Police have arrested one of the suspects in the failed assassination of a Philippine governor in a raid in the southern province of Sulu, officials said Thursday.
Officials said commandos raided a hideout and captured Abner Tahil alias Abs in the village of Kasangyangan in Jolo town. Tahil, who was implicated by the police in the roadside bombing which targeted Sulu Governor Sakur Tan last year in Patikul town.
Police said ten people were injured in the attack, including a town mayor, after a motorcycle rigged with explosives, was remotely detonated as Tan convoy was passing by.
Tahil was surprised by the raid and did not resist arrest, said Chief Inspector Amil Baanan, operations chief of the provincial police force. “The arrest of Tahil is part of a long intelligence operation,” Baanan said.
He said Senior Superintendent Joseph Ramac, the Sulu police chief, ordered security forces to intensify the hunt for other suspects in the bombing following the capture of Tahil in Jolo town.
Tahil is also being investigated for his role in a suicide bombing that also targeted Tan in Zamboanga City last month.
Tan was among more than two dozen people injured in the bombing outside the Zamboanga International Airport.
The bomber, Reynaldo Apilado, and Hatimil Haron, one of his cohorts, were killed in the blast. Police also implicated at least three more men – Allan Sabudin, Muamar Astali and Adong Salahuddin – in the attack after they were seen in a hotel security video in Zamboanga City together with Apilado and Haron before the bombing. The three men remain at large.
National police chief Jesus Versoza said the attack was connected to the failed assassination of Tan last year. “This is connected to the failed assassination of Governor Tan last year. We are looking into all angles and motives of the attack,” he said.
Police said blamed last year attack on Tan to the militant group Abu Sayyaf, saying, two of the bombers were captured in a firefight with police commandos and they pointed to Tan’s political foes as the mastermind in the failed assassination.
Tan said more witnesses to the latest bombing have come out in the open and implicated several people as behind the attack. “Witnesses are coming out now and telling authorities that some people are also involved in the bombing,” he said, adding, authorities are now investigating the reports.
Regional police chief Edwin Corvera said they have received information from people claiming to have knowledge or were involved in the failed assassination of Tan. He said most of the information was passed to them through a police hotline they put up after the bombing.
He said information they received allegedly tagged a defeated congressional aspirant in Sulu province as behind the airport bombing while another implicated two defeated town mayors who are known political foes of the governor, and several policemen and that a bounty was put up by the mastermind to assassinate Tan. A third politician in Sulu, who lost in the May elections, was also implicated in the bombing. (Mindanao Examiner)
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Kidnapped Chinese trader in RP rescued after 19 months in Sayyaf captivity
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 6, 2010) – Police rescued a kidnapped Chinese trader after more than 19 months in Abu Sayyaf captivity in the southern Filipino province of Sulu, officials said Tuesday.
Xili Wu alias Peter Go, a native of Fujian province, was rescued late Monday after commandos clashed with militants in the town of Luuk, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf who has links with Jemaah Islamiya and al-Qaeda terror organizations, television reports quoting Senior Superintendent Elmer Escosia, the commander of police forces in Sulu, said.
Reports also quoted Escosia as saying that police clashed with the kidnappers in Lambago village at around 8.30 p.m. But attempts by other journalists to get more details about the rescue of Xili were rejected by Escosia for a still unknown reason.
But another police official confirmed that Xili was rescued by commandos and that the foreigner would be brought to Zamboanga City after authorities get information from the Chinese man about his captors led by Commander Saji.
Xili, one of five owners of an appliances store Perlas Trading in Jolo town, was kidnapped in December 2008 by militants. It was then that police discovered that Xili, 28-years old when kidnapped, is a Chinese citizen and so were his four other associates who all assumed Filipino names to be able to secure a business license and operate the store in Jolo.
Xili’s group had lived in Jolo since early 2008. His four business partners fled Jolo weeks after the kidnapping. Police had previously tagged Albader Parad for the kidnapping. Parad’s group originally demanded P25 million ransoms, but lowered this to P10 million for Xili’s safe release.
Parad - tagged as the mastermind of the kidnappings of three international Red Cross workers in Sulu in 2009 and behind for deadly terrorist attacks in the province - was one of six Abu Sayyaf leaders killed in military operations in February this year.
The Abu Sayyaf, which the police and military claimed has more than 300 gunmen, has been blamed for a string of high-profile kidnappings for ransom, including of Americans and Europeans. It's on a U.S. list of terrorist organizations with links to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya. (Mindanao Examiner)
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Sayyaf leader captured in Basilan province
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 16, 2010) – Government troops captured an Abu Sayyaf sub-leader after storming Wednesday a hideout of the terrorist group tied to Al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya in the southern Filipino province of Basilan, an army spokeswoman said.
Lieutenant Steffani Cacho said troops raided the encampment in the village of Bulan-Bulan in Lantawan town where the militant leader Kaiser Said Usman was hiding.
“Kaiser has a standing warrant of arrest and was one of those who escaped from jail in Basilan in December last year,” Cacho said, adding, soldiers recovered an M16 automatic rifle and a grenade.
Cacho gave no other details about the militant leader or whether if he was involved in the spate of bombings in the troubled province just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City.
On April 13 this year, Abu Sayyaf militants disguised as policemen and army troops detonated bombs outside the Santa Isabel Cathedral and the Basilan National High School in Isabela City, the provincial capital, and opened fire at fleeing civilians killing and wounding several people. A third bomb planted at a roadside was detonated by security forces.
The militants escaped after holding several civilians and used them as shield. Some of them were killed, including a policeman who tried to rescue the hostages. Basilan is one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. (Mindanao Examiner)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Sayyaf abducts, decapitates three men in South RP
BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 13, 2010) – Abu Sayyaf militants beheaded three men they abducted on a remote village in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, police said Sunday.
Police said the bodies and their severed heads were all recovered in Maluso town where militants with links to Jemaah Islamiya and Al-Qaeda had been recovered Saturday.
“There is an ongoing operation to track down the Abu Sayyaf responsible in the killings,” Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the provincial police chief, said and blaming the brutal murders to Puruji Indama, which heads a faction of the Abu Sayyaf in restive province of Basilan.
He said the three men were just gathering woods near Abong-Abong village and had been abducted on Friday afternoon and their bodies recovered the next day.
The motive of the killings was unknown, but Mendoza said the victims were all Christians. The attacks came a week after the Abu Sayyaf also decapitated three kidnapped Christian men after their families failed to pay huge ransom in exchange for their lives.
The Abu Sayyaf is small, but the most notorious terrorist group blamed by authorities for the spate of bombings, killings and kidnappings-for-ransom. Dozens of people had been killed in past attacks in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
The breakdown of peace and order in the province has been largely blamed by citizens to the failure of military and police to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf and the absence of local government officials who frequently stay in their bungalows in Zamboanga and Manila. (Mindanao Examiner)
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Sayyaf executes 3 kidnapped victims in South RP
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 5, 2010) – Three Filipino men kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf militants had been executed in the restive province of Basilan, where security forces are pursuing the terrorist group tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya, officials said.
Officials said the trio - Claudio Mananita, Rolando Francisco and Dariel Quintella – were kidnapped on May 27 by Abu Sayyaf gunmen headed by Puruji Indama. Their bodies were discovered by civilians on Saturday in Sukaten village in Sumisip town.
“The bodies were discovered at around 9.45 in the morning today and there is an ongoing operation against the kidnappers,” said Brigadier General Eugenio Clement, commander of military forces in Basilan, one of five provinces under the troubled Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.
The kidnappers executed the trio by musketry after their families failed to pay some three million pesos ransom demanded by the Abu Sayyaf, blamed for the spate of terrorism and killings in the southern Philippines.
Indama’s group was also behind many kidnappings in Zamboanga City and Basilan last year and tagged as behind the series of attacks on government troops in the province.
In April, two government soldiers were wounded in a clash with the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan’s Sumisip town after militants detonated bombs in Isabela City, the provincial capital, and sprayed automatic gunfire on fleeing villagers that left dozens of people dead and wounded. (Mindanao Examiner)
Friday, June 04, 2010
Police holds Sayyaf man in Zamboanga City
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 4, 2010) – A Muslim family whose son was seized by police agents in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines appealed to authorities to free the man accused as being a member of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
The suspect, George Nambi, was seized by armed men near the village of Santa Barbara earlier this week. His companion managed to escape and sought police protection only to learn that Nambi is being held on suspicion of being a militant responsible in 2002 kidnappings of civilians in Sulu province.
Nambi’s family denied the accusations and insisted the man was innocent and so were nine other Muslim men who are also being hunted down by the police on the same allegations.
“Our son is innocent. He is a good man with no criminal records,” Nambi’s mother told reporters.
Nambi’s friends also denied the police accusations. “If we are members of the Abu Sayyaf, we will not go to the police and seek assistance to locate George,” one of Nambi’s friends, said. “Every day we go to the mosque and pray – five times a day – and then sit and relax under a tree, but now we are being hunted like criminals.”
Police and military agents previously seized at gunpoint suspected Abu Sayyaf members and charged them with kidnappings and terrorism, among others, and flown to Manila where they are locked-up along with other criminals. Many of them were illegally arrested and complained of being tortured into admitting they are Abu Sayyaf members.
Authorities linked the Abu Sayyaf, a small, but the most violent Muslim rebel group fighting for independence, to the spate of terrorism and kidnappings-for-ransom in the southern Philippines.
The group, whose original name is “Al-harakatul al-Islamiya,” which means “bearer of the sword,” was also linked by the military to the Indonesian terrorist organization the “Jemaah Islamiya,” blamed for the deadly bombings in Bali in 2002. (Mindanao Examiner)
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
2 soldiers wounded in Sayyaf clash in Basilan province
BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / April 28, 2010) – Two government soldiers were wounded in a clash with al-Qaeda-linked militants in the restive province of Basilan in the southern Philippines, officials said Wednesday.
Officials said the fighting erupted on a village called Baiwas in Sumisip town after Scout Rangers crossed path with Abu Sayyaf militants wearing army and marines uniform. It was unknown if there were casualties on the side of the Abu Sayyaf.
“Two of our soldiers are wounded in the fighting, slightly injured,” said Army First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command.
It was not immediately known whether the gunmen were among the group that was behind a deadly attack in Basilan’s Isabela City that left more than a dozen people dead.
Abu Sayyaf militants disguised as policemen and army troops detonated bombs outside the Santa Isabel Cathedral and the Basilan National High School and opened fire at fleeing civilians on April 13. A third bomb planted at a roadside was detonated by security forces.
The militants escaped after holding several civilians and used them as shield. Some of them were killed, including a policeman who tried to rescue the hostages. (Mindanao Examiner)
Friday, April 23, 2010
Muslim Organizations Denounce Bombings in Basilan
BASILAN, Philippines - The leadership of the Basilan Ulama Supreme Council based in Isabela City in Basilan province strongly denounced the recent bombings that left scores of civilians dead and wounded.
An emergency meeting was called by Dr. Aboulkhair Tarason, chairman of the Basilan Ulama Supreme Council and concurrent vice chairman of the National Ulama Conference of the Philippines after the April 13 attacks.
The NUCP and the BUSC unanimously expressed deep apprehensions and concern over the new spate of political violence. Tarason condemned the bombing and called on the public to stay vigilant.
He reminded citizens to “be calm in the midst of this unpredictable situation because it can easily bring confusion and misunderstanding among the peace-loving people as well as the different political leaders in the Province.”
Tarason reminded that all places of worship, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, are sacred, and hence must be respected and protected from any forms of harassment and destruction.
One bomb exploded outside the Basilan National High School and the second was detonated in front of the Santa isabel Cathedral.
Aleem Abdulmuhmin Mujahid, an officer of the ZAMBASULTA Regional Management committee of NUCP, said: “Basilan, particularly Isabela City, could have been very peaceful and tranquil if it was to exist without the spurs of sabotage coming from some sectors and groups, particularly from those who do not want peace to reign in the entirety of Basilan.“
Tarason, Mujahid and the officers of the Ulama Council, together with the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy and Magbassa Kita Foundation Inc appealed to authorities and the local government to investigate the incidents and to look into the real motives of the bombing and allay the apprehensions of the public.
The National Ulama Conference of the Philippines is a national network of Islamic organizations and Muslim religious scholars working for peace and development through exercise of moral and spiritual leadership and through encouragement of active participation of the community members in peace-building efforts.
Authorities blamed the attacks to the Abu Sayyaf group.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Captured Sayyaf militant dies in military custody in Mindanao
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / April 21, 2010) – One of two captured Abu Sayyaf militants tagged as among those behind twin bombings in Basilan province in Mindanao had died from his wounds at a local military hospital, officials said Wednesday.
Officials said Umbar, who was wounded in a firefight with troops last week, died late Tuesday in hospital at the military’s Western Mindanao Command headquarters.
“An Abu Sayyaf member captured by government troops after the attack in Isabela City in Basilan died of cardio respiratory arrest secondary to sepsis due to his infected wounds,” said First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a regional military spokeswoman.
She said the body of the militant was handed over to an imam and buried in a coastal village called Caragasan, west of Zamboanga City.
Cacho said another militant, Ajib Hainal, who was also wounded in the fighting and captured by the military in Basilan province, would soon be handed over to the police.
“Hainal is ready for release to the police,” she said.
Police have filed criminal charges against more than a dozen militants blamed for the deadly attacks April 13 in Isabela City where the Abu Sayyaf detonated bombs and opened fire on fleeing civilians. It said 14 people were killed in the violence.
Relatives of civilians killed in the attacks blamed police and military for their failure to prevent terrorism and public outrage is steadily growing.
Family members of those killed in the Abu Sayyaf attacks wore black shirts with markings “No Order” during the burial of four victims over the weekend – referring to the unstable peace and order condition in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region, wrecked by clan war and terrorism and kidnappings for ransom.
Others carried streamers: “Game of the Generals,” “Give justice to the victims” and Justice of Tubigan massacre.” Tubigan is a village in Isabela City where militants opened fire on innocent civilians as they flee from pursuing government troops.
“I am from Isabela City and I really cannot understand why it took the military and the police so long to react on the attacks. The attackers were just walking in the village as they opened fire on hapless and innocent civilians.”
“They even shot and killed one policeman, took his weapon and chopped off his hand and this happened 30 minutes after the bombing and they continued their killing spree,” one woman said.
Many residents also blamed the failure of government officials who allegedly spend more time in vacation in Manila rather in the province and attend to the needs of their constituents and some only reports to sign important documents or collect their salaries.
Isabela, one of two largely Christian cities in Basilan, is host to a military camp and a police base, but the province is also a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels, which were blamed in previous attacks and kidnappings.
Basilan had been attacked many times in the past by the Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels and security problems still remain the same and military and police authorities also failed to improve the peace and order situation. (Mindanao Examiner)
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sayyaf attacks victims buried in Basilan province
A young man walks past an area where an Abu Sayyaf bomb was detonated by authorities Philippine authorities in Isabela City in the Muslim province of Basilan where militants detonate two improvised explosives and opened fire on innocent civilians that left 14 people dead. Four of those killed were buried Saturday, April 18, 2010. Ferry passengers who came from Zamboanga City return to Basilan province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)The four were buried over the weekend in Isabela City where militants detonated bombs and fired at fleeing civilians last week. The attacks triggered a firefight with soldiers that left 14 people dead.
Family members of those buried wore black shirt with markings “No Order,” which refers to the unstable peace and order condition in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region, wrecked by clan war and terrorism and kidnappings for ransom.
Other carried streamers: “Game of the Generals,” “Give justice to the victims” and Justice of Tubigan massacre.” Tubigan is a village in Isabela City where militants opened fire on innocent civilians as they flee from pursuing government troops.
“I am from Isabela City and I really cannot understand why it took the military and the police so long to react on the attacks. The attackers were just walking in the village as they opened fire on hapless and innocent civilians.”
“They even shot and killed one policeman, took his weapon and chopped off his hand and this happened 30 minutes after the bombing and they continued their killing spree,” one woman told the Mindanao Examiner.
But many residents also blamed the failure of government officials who allegedly spend more time in vacation in Manila rather in the province and attend to the needs of their constituents and some only reports to sign important documents or collect their salaries.
Isabela, one of two largely Christian cities in Basilan, is host to a military camp and a police base, but the province is also a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels, which were blamed in previous attacks and kidnappings.
Basilan had been attacked many times in the past by the Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels and security problems still remain the same and military and police authorities also failed to improve the peace and order situation. (Mindanao Examiner)
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Troops hunt down Sayyaf in Basilan province
Soldiers guard a village in Isabela City in Muslim autonomous province of Basilan in the southern Philippines. Security forces continue to hunt down Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for deadly attacks Tuesday that left 14 people dead in the largely Christian city. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)
BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / April 17, 2010) – Security forces continue hunt down Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for deadly attacks in the restive Muslim province of Basilan in the southern Philippines, police said Saturday.
Troops on Friday battled the Abu Sayyaf in Isabela City and killed three militants near the village of Mesola. Soldiers also detonated an improvised explosive left behind by the Abu Sayyaf blamed for Tuesday’s twin bombings in the largely Christian city.
“There is an operation going on and we are not letting our guards down. We have deployed more police forces to guard vital government installations and protect the civilians,” said Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the provincial police chief.
Militants on Tuesday detonated bombs and opened fire on civilians fleeing the attacks, but police and military authorities were investigating reports that a politician running for governor in the Basilan could have masterminded the carnage.
The reports linked Mujiv Hataman to the attacks which allegedly targeted another gubernatorial candidate Joel Maturan, the mayor of Ungkaya Pukan town, and his mayoralty candidate Edwin Pantaleta – both were said to be the local favorites.
Hataman denied all the accusations against him and urged authorities to investigate the bombings. Two militants captured in Tuesday’s firefight are now being interrogated by the military in Zamboanga City.
Abu Sayyaf militants in the past were also reported to have been hired by politicians to assassinate their rivals.
Last year, the Abu Sayyaf detonated a roadside bomb in a failed assassination of Governor Sakur Tan, of Sulu province. Two militants captured by the police admitted they were hired by Tan’s political foes to kill him.
In November 2007, suspected Abu Sayyaf militants who were allegedly hired by two politicians in Basilan also detonated a bomb planted at the entrance of the Philippine Congress and killed Representative Wahab Akbar, a former Basilan governor, and three other people. (Mindanao Examiner)
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Sayyafs, militias clash in Basilan province
Government troops guard a village in Isabela City in the southern Philippine province of Basilan where Abu Sayyaf militants disguised as policemen and soldiers detonated bombs and opened fire on civilians on Tuesday, April 13, 2010. Police say 14 people were killed and many more wounded in the violence – three of them militants who clashed with soldiers. Police say clashes again erupted Wednesday in Isabela City between Abu Sayyaf gunmen and government militias. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)Police said the fighting broke out in the village of Begang in Isabela City where the militants disguised as policemen and army troops set off bombs and opened fire on civilians that left more than a dozen people dead.
Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the Basilan police chief, said militiamen clashed with at least 7 militants who were part of the group that launched attacks on Tuesday.
It was unknown whether any of the militants were wounded in the clash, but they were able to escape towards a rubber plantation where soldiers and policemen have surrounded. One villager was taken hostage by the fleeing gunmen and were using the civilian as shield, Mendoza said.
“Pursuit operation is going. Police and military forces are pursuing the Abu Sayyaf,” he said.
Mendoza said security forces have captured one of the attackers who was wounded in the fighting Tuesday and five more people believed to be supporters of the Abu Sayyaf.
He said a total of 14 people – three of them militants - were killed in the violence in Isabela City.
Police and military have put up checkpoints and road blocks in Isabela to prevent the militants from escaping.
“We have put up checkpoints and road blocks and operations are going on against the terrorists,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
11 dead in Sayyaf bombings, gun fight in Southern Philippines
At least 11 people are killed in a bomb attack and clashes Tuesday, April 13, 2010 between Abu Sayyaf militants and soldiers in the southern Philippine province of Basilan. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)Officials said soldiers clashed with at least six militants who were transporting improvised explosives in a van near the Basilan National High School. The fighting, which broke out at around 10 a.m., left five people dead - two soldiers and three militants.
A motorcycle bomb exploded 30 minutes later outside a Catholic church and killed one civilian and wounded several more. Another bomb planted on a road just outside the house of a local judge was detonated by authorities, but the powerful blast damaged his garage.
The other militants escaped after holding several civilians and used them as shield. Some of them were killed, including a policeman who tried to rescue the hostages. Security forces were pursuing the Abu Sayyaf gunmen, but the fate of the hostages remains unknown.
“We are pursuing the Abu Sayyaf which is behind the bombing,” said First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a regional army spokeswoman.
She said the militants were clad in police and military uniforms.
Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the provincial police chief, said they have put up checkpoints and road blocks to prevent the militant from escaping.
“We have put up checkpoints and road blocks and operations are going on against the terrorists,” he said.
On Monday, an army soldier was also wounded in an ambush by suspected Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels in Ungkaya Pukan town outside Isabela City. (Mindanao Examiner)
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sayyaf camp falls in Sulu, sub-leader killed in firefight with troops
It said an undetermined number of militants were also killed and two soldiers wounded in the fighting Friday that led to the fall of the encampment in the hinterland village of Panglayahan in Patikul town.
“The camp, which was strategically located at the foot hill of the mountainous Sinumaan complex, was heavily defended by about fifty Abu Sayyaf fighters. They, however, retreated after a fierce firefight resulting to numerous casualties on the terrorist while two Marines were wounded,” said Brigadier General Rustico Guerrero, commander of military forces in Sulu province.
The fighting was part of the military operation to capture senior militant leader Radullan Sahiron, a former commander of the Moro National Liberation Front which signed a peace deal with Manila in 1996.
It was unclear whether Sahiron was in the camp during the fighting or if he had escaped the offensive. But one of Sahiron’s aide was killed in the fighting and that his body was recovered at the weekend.
Troops also recovered 57 rockets and assorted weapons from the camp, Guerrero said.
Sahiron is one of top Abu Sayyaf leaders wanted by the United States for terrorism.
Washington also offered as much as $1 million reward for the capture of Sahiron, who was one of those behind the kidnappings of 21 mostly Western holidaymakers in Malaysia’s resort island of Sipadan in 2001 and three US citizens, including 17 Filipinos kidnapped from the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan province in the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)