ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 18, 2009) – A farm owner kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf militants in Zamboanga City was beheaded after his family failed to pay ransom, police said Monday.
Police said the severed head of Doroteo Gonzales was recovered late Sunday in Mangalot village in Akbar town in Basilan province, several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City.
Gonzales, 61, was snatched from his house April 25 in the village of Buenavista and brought to Basilan by his captors. His body was not found, police said.
“We have not found his body. Police in Akbar town are still searching for the body,” Chief Inspector Rolando Democrito told the Mindanao Examiner by phone from Basilan, adding, the Abu Sayyaf was behind the killing.
Gonzales’ captors had previously demanded P25 million ransom and warned his family that they will kill the hostage if ransom is not paid.
Suspected Abu Sayyaf also kidnapped three government teachers Quizon Freires, 28; Janette Delos Reyes, 29; and Rafael Mayonado, 24.
They were on a motorboat returning to Zamboanga from a working break when gunmen intercepted them at sea brought them to nearby Basilan.
The Abu Sayyaf demanded P6 million for their safe release and also threatened to killed them if ransom is not paid. The hostages’ families said the government is not helping enough to secure the release of the three teachers.
Late last year, Abu Sayyaf gunmen also kidnapped a hospital nurse and a nursing student in Zamboanga City and brought them to Basilan and were ransomed off by their families several weeks later.
Police said the Abu Sayyaf is also holding a lending firm collector, Leah Patris, seized near Basilan’s Maluso town and a Sri Lankan national, Umar Jaleel, a member of the international peace advocate group called Nonviolent Peaceforce, both were kidnapped in February.
The Abu Sayyaf is a small band of militants blamed for the country's worst terrorist attacks and is still holding an Italian Red Cross worker Eugenio Vagni who was seized in January in Sulu province. (Mindanao Examiner)
Showing posts with label Beheading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beheading. Show all posts
Monday, May 18, 2009
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Sayyaf Executioner Captured In Zamboanga City
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 16, 2008) – Police in Zamboanga City have captured an alleged Abu Sayyaf militant implicated in the beheading of 14 soldiers in the southern Filipino island of Basilan, reports said on Tuesday.
Reports said Abdul Balahim was captured in the village of Talon-Talon over the weekend, but his arrest was not immediately made public for a still unknown reason.
Police tagged Balahim as among those who decapitated the soldiers after security forces clashed with Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels on a village in Basilan’s Al-Barka town last year.
Balahim is facing a string of murder charges in Basilan Island. It was unclear how the militant was able to elude government forces in Basilan or how the police tracked him down in Zamboanga City and whether he was planning an attack here.
Local police declined to give any statement about Balahim.
The Abu Sayyaf had previously bombed civilian targets in Zamboanga City over the years and continued its terror campaign elsewhere. Philippine authorities have linked the Abu Sayyaf to both the Saudi’s Al-Qaeda terror network and the Indonesian militant Jemaah Islamiya, blamed for the past bombings in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)
Saturday, May 05, 2007
RP Human Rights Commission To File Charges Vs Abu Sayyaf Executioners
JOLO ISLAND (Mindanao Examiner / 05 May) – The Philippine Commission on Human Rights is poised to file criminal charges against a senior Abu Sayyaf leader, whose group is tied to al-Qaeda terror network, for the killing of seven kidnapped Filipinos in Jolo island.
The victims, kidnapped April 15, were beheaded four days later after the Abu Sayyaf failed to get ransom from governor of Jolo island, Benjamin Loong.
The gang, led by Albader Parad, reportedly demanded as much as seven million pesos in exchange for the lives of the seven men - six of them were workers of the governor in his private construction firm.
Human rights regional chief, lawyer Jose Manuel Mamauag, said the testimonies and cooperation of the victims’ families are needed to file the charges against Parad and his group. (Mindanao Examiner)
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Pamumugot-Ulo Ng Sayyaf, Kinondena!
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 22 Apr) - Kinondena ng mga ibat-ibang grupo ng mga Muslim at religious sector ang bandidong Abu Sayyaf dahil sa pagpugot nito ng ulo sa 7 bihag sa lalawigan ng Sulu.
Walang awang pinatay ng Abu Sayyaf ang mga inonsenteng biktima matapos na mabigo ang mga bandido na makakuha ng ransom.
Anim sa mga bihag ay pawang taga-Zamboanga City at nagta-trabaho umano sa construction firm ni Sulu Gov. Benjamin Loong. Ang isa naman ay mangingisda lamang. Lahat ay dinukot nuong Abril 15 sa bayan ng Parang.
Hinihinalang pinahirapan muna ng Abu Sayyaf ang mga bihag bago ito pinatay, ayon naman sa mga nakakita sa bangkay. Kahapon ay nakaluksa pa arin ang maraming mga kaanak at pamilya ng anim na trabahador sa Zamboanga City.
Nagbabanta naman ngayon ang mga residenteng Muslim sa Sulu na magsasagawa ng malaking rally upang i-protesta ang walang habas na pamamaslang ng Abu Sayyaf ng mga inosenteng sibilyan at maging mga Muslim sa lalawigan ay pinapatay rin.
Marami sa mga Muslim ay dismayado sa malalang peace and order situation sa Sulu at sinisisi ang kawalan ng governance sa lalawigan. Marami sa mga opisyal ng Sulu ay palaging nasa Zamboanga at Maynila at halos hindi makita sa kanilang mga tanggapan.
Maging si dating Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan ay dismayado rin sa naganap at sinisi nito ang diumano’y kawalan ang governance sa lalawigan at malalang peace and order situation doon.
“There is no governance(in Sulu) because many politicians who are supposed to stay in their office and do their duties as public servants stay in Zamboanga and travel to Manila for good time.”
“The peace and order condition is getting worse by the day and people are tired and sick of violence and killings and fighting. We need people who will really work hard and served the public well. Kailangan malapit ang komunidad sa mga leader upang mabatid ang problema.”
“Yun mga pinugutan ng ulo ay naghahanap buhay lamang, pero ang tanong ay bakit sila dinukot at bakit pinugutan ng ulo agad. Dapat nabuksan ang isang mapayapang negosasyon upang mailigtas ang buhay ng mga biktima,” ani Tan sa isang ambush interview ng mga mamamahayag sa Zamboanga City.
Sinabi naman ni Maj. Eugene Batara, ang spokesman ng Western Mindanao Command, na patuloy ang pagtugis ng military sa bandidong grupo. Ipinadala pa ng Abu Sayyaf ang mga ulo sa militar sa bayan ng Parang at Indanan.
“Our troops are pursuing the terrorists,” ani Batara sa pahayagang Mindanao Examiner.
Nauna umanong humingi ng limang milyong ransom ang Abu Sayyaf kay Loong ngunit tinangihan naman ito ng pulitiko. Ayon sa ibang ulat ay isang milyong piso bawat isa ang hiling ng Abu Sayyaf.
Nakilala naman ang anim sa pinugutan na sina Nonoy Ampoy, Loloy Teodoro, Roger Francisco, Toto Milas, Wilmer Santos at Dennis delos Reyes. Hindi agad nakilala ang ika-pitong biktima.
Patungo sa trabaho ang anim na biktima sakay ng isang dump truck ng sila’y harangin at dukutin sa bayan ng Parang ng Abu Sayyaf sa ilalim ni Albader Parad.
Ayon pa sa ibang ulat ay may dalawa pang bihag na sundalo ang Abu Sayyaf. Dinukot rin ang dalawa na diumano’y sakay ng isang jeep sa nasabing bayan, ngunit wala umanong balita ang militar ukol dito.
Bukod sa Abu Sayyaf ay patuloy rin ang labanan sa pagitan ng militar Moro National Liberation Front rebels sa Sulu at umabot na sa 24 ang mga nasawi at mahigit sa 100 ang sugatan mula pa nuong Abril 13.
Nagbabala rin si MNLF leader Habier Malik na may mga atake pang magaganap. Galit nag alit si Malik sa militar na inakusahan nitong nasa likod ng pagpatay sa mga rebelde sa ilang ulit na sagupaan.
Lumabag umano ang militar sa September 1996 peace agreement sa pagitan ng MNLF at pamahalaan. Iginigiit naman ng militar na kinukupkop ng MNLF ang Abu Sayyaf at Jemaah Islmiya bombers sa Sulu na itinanggi naman ni Malik. (Mindanao Examiner)
Walang awang pinatay ng Abu Sayyaf ang mga inonsenteng biktima matapos na mabigo ang mga bandido na makakuha ng ransom.
Anim sa mga bihag ay pawang taga-Zamboanga City at nagta-trabaho umano sa construction firm ni Sulu Gov. Benjamin Loong. Ang isa naman ay mangingisda lamang. Lahat ay dinukot nuong Abril 15 sa bayan ng Parang.
Hinihinalang pinahirapan muna ng Abu Sayyaf ang mga bihag bago ito pinatay, ayon naman sa mga nakakita sa bangkay. Kahapon ay nakaluksa pa arin ang maraming mga kaanak at pamilya ng anim na trabahador sa Zamboanga City.
Nagbabanta naman ngayon ang mga residenteng Muslim sa Sulu na magsasagawa ng malaking rally upang i-protesta ang walang habas na pamamaslang ng Abu Sayyaf ng mga inosenteng sibilyan at maging mga Muslim sa lalawigan ay pinapatay rin.
Marami sa mga Muslim ay dismayado sa malalang peace and order situation sa Sulu at sinisisi ang kawalan ng governance sa lalawigan. Marami sa mga opisyal ng Sulu ay palaging nasa Zamboanga at Maynila at halos hindi makita sa kanilang mga tanggapan.
Maging si dating Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan ay dismayado rin sa naganap at sinisi nito ang diumano’y kawalan ang governance sa lalawigan at malalang peace and order situation doon.
“There is no governance(in Sulu) because many politicians who are supposed to stay in their office and do their duties as public servants stay in Zamboanga and travel to Manila for good time.”
“The peace and order condition is getting worse by the day and people are tired and sick of violence and killings and fighting. We need people who will really work hard and served the public well. Kailangan malapit ang komunidad sa mga leader upang mabatid ang problema.”
“Yun mga pinugutan ng ulo ay naghahanap buhay lamang, pero ang tanong ay bakit sila dinukot at bakit pinugutan ng ulo agad. Dapat nabuksan ang isang mapayapang negosasyon upang mailigtas ang buhay ng mga biktima,” ani Tan sa isang ambush interview ng mga mamamahayag sa Zamboanga City.
Sinabi naman ni Maj. Eugene Batara, ang spokesman ng Western Mindanao Command, na patuloy ang pagtugis ng military sa bandidong grupo. Ipinadala pa ng Abu Sayyaf ang mga ulo sa militar sa bayan ng Parang at Indanan.
“Our troops are pursuing the terrorists,” ani Batara sa pahayagang Mindanao Examiner.
Nauna umanong humingi ng limang milyong ransom ang Abu Sayyaf kay Loong ngunit tinangihan naman ito ng pulitiko. Ayon sa ibang ulat ay isang milyong piso bawat isa ang hiling ng Abu Sayyaf.
Nakilala naman ang anim sa pinugutan na sina Nonoy Ampoy, Loloy Teodoro, Roger Francisco, Toto Milas, Wilmer Santos at Dennis delos Reyes. Hindi agad nakilala ang ika-pitong biktima.
Patungo sa trabaho ang anim na biktima sakay ng isang dump truck ng sila’y harangin at dukutin sa bayan ng Parang ng Abu Sayyaf sa ilalim ni Albader Parad.
Ayon pa sa ibang ulat ay may dalawa pang bihag na sundalo ang Abu Sayyaf. Dinukot rin ang dalawa na diumano’y sakay ng isang jeep sa nasabing bayan, ngunit wala umanong balita ang militar ukol dito.
Bukod sa Abu Sayyaf ay patuloy rin ang labanan sa pagitan ng militar Moro National Liberation Front rebels sa Sulu at umabot na sa 24 ang mga nasawi at mahigit sa 100 ang sugatan mula pa nuong Abril 13.
Nagbabala rin si MNLF leader Habier Malik na may mga atake pang magaganap. Galit nag alit si Malik sa militar na inakusahan nitong nasa likod ng pagpatay sa mga rebelde sa ilang ulit na sagupaan.
Lumabag umano ang militar sa September 1996 peace agreement sa pagitan ng MNLF at pamahalaan. Iginigiit naman ng militar na kinukupkop ng MNLF ang Abu Sayyaf at Jemaah Islmiya bombers sa Sulu na itinanggi naman ni Malik. (Mindanao Examiner)
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Decapitated Bodies Of Sayyaf Hostages Arrive In Zamboanga City
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Al Jacinto / 21 Apr) – Relatives and families of slain Abu Sayyaf hostages grieved Saturday as bodies of the six construction workers arrived in Zamboanga City in crates.
The six, kidnapped on April 15 in Jolo island, were beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf after the island’s governor Benjamin Loong rejected a demand for ransom. The kidnappers, headed by Albader Parad, a notorious militant leader, reportedly sought as much as seven million pesos in exchange for lives of the six men seized in the town of Parang.
A fisherman, also kidnapped in Parang town, was also decapitated. Their heads were delivered to two military detachments in Jolo island on Thursday and their bodies, hands tied behind the back, had been recovered the next day.
The families of the victims blamed the government for its failure to save the lives of the hostages, who were all natives of Zamboanga City and workers of Loong.
“We cannot pay ransom money because of the government’s no-ransom policy,” Loong said. “We will give the families of the slain workers one hundred thousand pesos each to help them (in the funeral expenses).
A ferry transported the bodies from Jolo and a crane was used to unload the six crates in Zamboanga City, where dozens of grieving relatives were waiting.
“How could they do this thing? These people were innocent and only trying to make a descent living to feed their families. May Allah punish the Abu Sayyaf,” one man, Pedro Santos, who claimed to be a relative of the hostages, told the Mindanao Examiner.
Many Muslims in Jolo island condemned the killings. A former governor, Sakur Tan, blamed the worsening peace and order situation on the island and the habitual absences and travels to Manila of many politicians, instead of staying in Jolo.
“There is no governance (in Jolo island) because many politicians who are supposed to stay in their office and do their duties as public servants stay in Zamboanga and travel to Manila for good time.”
“The peace and order condition is getting worse by the day and people are tired and sick of violence and killings and fighting. We need people who will really work hard and served the public well,” Tan said in a separate interview.
The Philippine military also condemned the slaying of the hostages.
Juan San Diego, a retired soldier, who had served in Jolo island, criticized militant party list groups he claimed are allied with the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines.
“While every sector and civil groups are condemning the killings of these innocent people, the so-called progressive political groups, such as the Suara Bangsamoro, Bayan Muna, Karapatan, Kabataan, Anakpawis, Gabriela and their likes, remain silent about the atrocities of the Abu Sayyaf.”
“But they are quick to denounce the military and the government of all fabricated lies about human rights abuses and yet the Abu Sayyaf and other rebel groups continue their terror activities. These party list groups are really communists,” San Diego, a former army gunnery sergeant, said.
Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist organization and offered as much as $5 million bounty for the capture of its known leaders. Manila also set aside P100 million reward for their capture dead or alive. (Mindanao Examiner)
The six, kidnapped on April 15 in Jolo island, were beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf after the island’s governor Benjamin Loong rejected a demand for ransom. The kidnappers, headed by Albader Parad, a notorious militant leader, reportedly sought as much as seven million pesos in exchange for lives of the six men seized in the town of Parang.
A fisherman, also kidnapped in Parang town, was also decapitated. Their heads were delivered to two military detachments in Jolo island on Thursday and their bodies, hands tied behind the back, had been recovered the next day.
The families of the victims blamed the government for its failure to save the lives of the hostages, who were all natives of Zamboanga City and workers of Loong.
“We cannot pay ransom money because of the government’s no-ransom policy,” Loong said. “We will give the families of the slain workers one hundred thousand pesos each to help them (in the funeral expenses).
A ferry transported the bodies from Jolo and a crane was used to unload the six crates in Zamboanga City, where dozens of grieving relatives were waiting.
“How could they do this thing? These people were innocent and only trying to make a descent living to feed their families. May Allah punish the Abu Sayyaf,” one man, Pedro Santos, who claimed to be a relative of the hostages, told the Mindanao Examiner.
Many Muslims in Jolo island condemned the killings. A former governor, Sakur Tan, blamed the worsening peace and order situation on the island and the habitual absences and travels to Manila of many politicians, instead of staying in Jolo.
“There is no governance (in Jolo island) because many politicians who are supposed to stay in their office and do their duties as public servants stay in Zamboanga and travel to Manila for good time.”
“The peace and order condition is getting worse by the day and people are tired and sick of violence and killings and fighting. We need people who will really work hard and served the public well,” Tan said in a separate interview.
The Philippine military also condemned the slaying of the hostages.
Juan San Diego, a retired soldier, who had served in Jolo island, criticized militant party list groups he claimed are allied with the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines.
“While every sector and civil groups are condemning the killings of these innocent people, the so-called progressive political groups, such as the Suara Bangsamoro, Bayan Muna, Karapatan, Kabataan, Anakpawis, Gabriela and their likes, remain silent about the atrocities of the Abu Sayyaf.”
“But they are quick to denounce the military and the government of all fabricated lies about human rights abuses and yet the Abu Sayyaf and other rebel groups continue their terror activities. These party list groups are really communists,” San Diego, a former army gunnery sergeant, said.
Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist organization and offered as much as $5 million bounty for the capture of its known leaders. Manila also set aside P100 million reward for their capture dead or alive. (Mindanao Examiner)
Friday, April 20, 2007
Bodies Of Beheaded Sayyaf Hostages Recovered In Jolo Island
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 20 Apr) – Government soldiers have recovered Friday the decapitated bodies of seven people kidnapped by the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group in the southern Philippine island of Jolo.
Abu Sayyaf militants beheaded the hostages on Thursday after Benjamin Loong, the island’s governor rejected the group’s demand for P5 million ransoms.
The hostages, six of them construction workers and the seventh, a fisherman, were seized April 15 in Parang town. Their severed heads were sent to two military detachments on the island, said Maj. Eugene Batara, a regional army spokesman.
The kidnappers had demanded at least seven million pesos in exchange for the lives of the hostages. But Loong said the government has a strict no-ransom policy.
Six of those executed Nonoy Ampoy, Loloy Teodoro, Roger Francisco, Toto Milas, Wilmer Santos and Dennis delos Reyes were all working for Loong’s construction firm.
The bodies, hands bound behind the back and covered by banana leaves, were transported by a small truck to a morgue in Jolo town, where weeping relatives were waiting Friday.
“They killed my two cousins. They slaughtered them like a pig. They are all barbarians,” one man, whose two relatives were among those beheaded, said.
The victims were heading to work when militants kidnapped them. Police and military tagged the leader of the gang as Albader Parad, a notorious Abu Sayyaf commander, blamed for the spate of attacks against civilians and military targets in Jolo.
“This is how terrorism thrives. We condemn this barbarism. We will get the Abu Sayyaf,” Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, the Philippine military chief, told the Mindanao Examiner.
Others reports said two government soldiers traveling on a civilian jeep were also kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf at a checkpoint in Parang town, but the military said it has no information about the attack.
Security forces are also battling Moro National Liberation Front rebels on the island and the clashes left at least 21 soldiers and gunmen dead and more than 100 wounded since fighting began April 13.
MNLF leader Habier Malik warned of more attacks. “There will be more bloodshed. We are not afraid to die fighting the enemies,” he said.
Malik accused the military of violating the September 1996 peace agreement, saying, troops, pursuing the Abu Sayyaf, had killed MNLF members and innocent civilians in several armed encounters on the island.
He said had repeatedly soldiers encroached in MNLF areas, sparking sporadic clashes. The military also accused the MNLF of coddling the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya bombers in Jolo, a charged strongly denied by Malik.
Malik has declared a holy war against the military.
The MNLF rebels, under Chieftain Nur Misuari, signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government in September 1996. After the peace agreement was signed, Misuari became the governor of the Muslim autonomous region. But despite the accord, there was a widespread disillusionment with the weak autonomy they were granted.
Under the peace agreement, Manila would provide a mini-Marshal Plan to spur economic development in Muslim areas in the south and livelihood and housing assistance to tens of thousands of former rebels to uplift their poor living standards.
Many MNLF members were disgruntled with the peace deal, saying, the Arroyo government failed to comply with some of its provisions and uplift their standards of living. They accused Manila of failing to develop the war-torn areas in the south.
And in November 2001, on the eve of the elections in the Muslim autonomous region, Misuari accused the government of reneging on the peace agreement, and launched a new rebellion in Jolo island and Zamboanga City, where more than 100 people were killed.
Misuari then escaped by boat to Malaysia, but had been arrested and deported to the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
Abu Sayyaf militants beheaded the hostages on Thursday after Benjamin Loong, the island’s governor rejected the group’s demand for P5 million ransoms.
The hostages, six of them construction workers and the seventh, a fisherman, were seized April 15 in Parang town. Their severed heads were sent to two military detachments on the island, said Maj. Eugene Batara, a regional army spokesman.
The kidnappers had demanded at least seven million pesos in exchange for the lives of the hostages. But Loong said the government has a strict no-ransom policy.
Six of those executed Nonoy Ampoy, Loloy Teodoro, Roger Francisco, Toto Milas, Wilmer Santos and Dennis delos Reyes were all working for Loong’s construction firm.
The bodies, hands bound behind the back and covered by banana leaves, were transported by a small truck to a morgue in Jolo town, where weeping relatives were waiting Friday.
“They killed my two cousins. They slaughtered them like a pig. They are all barbarians,” one man, whose two relatives were among those beheaded, said.
The victims were heading to work when militants kidnapped them. Police and military tagged the leader of the gang as Albader Parad, a notorious Abu Sayyaf commander, blamed for the spate of attacks against civilians and military targets in Jolo.
“This is how terrorism thrives. We condemn this barbarism. We will get the Abu Sayyaf,” Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, the Philippine military chief, told the Mindanao Examiner.
Others reports said two government soldiers traveling on a civilian jeep were also kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf at a checkpoint in Parang town, but the military said it has no information about the attack.
Security forces are also battling Moro National Liberation Front rebels on the island and the clashes left at least 21 soldiers and gunmen dead and more than 100 wounded since fighting began April 13.
MNLF leader Habier Malik warned of more attacks. “There will be more bloodshed. We are not afraid to die fighting the enemies,” he said.
Malik accused the military of violating the September 1996 peace agreement, saying, troops, pursuing the Abu Sayyaf, had killed MNLF members and innocent civilians in several armed encounters on the island.
He said had repeatedly soldiers encroached in MNLF areas, sparking sporadic clashes. The military also accused the MNLF of coddling the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya bombers in Jolo, a charged strongly denied by Malik.
Malik has declared a holy war against the military.
The MNLF rebels, under Chieftain Nur Misuari, signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government in September 1996. After the peace agreement was signed, Misuari became the governor of the Muslim autonomous region. But despite the accord, there was a widespread disillusionment with the weak autonomy they were granted.
Under the peace agreement, Manila would provide a mini-Marshal Plan to spur economic development in Muslim areas in the south and livelihood and housing assistance to tens of thousands of former rebels to uplift their poor living standards.
Many MNLF members were disgruntled with the peace deal, saying, the Arroyo government failed to comply with some of its provisions and uplift their standards of living. They accused Manila of failing to develop the war-torn areas in the south.
And in November 2001, on the eve of the elections in the Muslim autonomous region, Misuari accused the government of reneging on the peace agreement, and launched a new rebellion in Jolo island and Zamboanga City, where more than 100 people were killed.
Misuari then escaped by boat to Malaysia, but had been arrested and deported to the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
Thursday, April 19, 2007
7 Sayyaf Hostages Beheaded In Southern Philippines
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 19 Apr) – Abu Sayyaf militants whose group is tied to al-Qaeda terror network, beheaded all seven of their civilian hostages in the troubled island of Jolo, about 950 km south of Manila, officials said Thursday.
The hostages, six of them construction workers and the remaining a fisherman, had been kidnapped April 15 in Parang town. Their severed heads were sent to a military post on the island, said Maj. Eugene Batara, a regional army spokesman.
“Our troops are pursuing the terrorists,” Batara told the Mindanao Examiner. He did not say whether the bodies had been recovered or not.
The Abu Sayyaf decapitated the hostages after the island’s governor, Benjamin Loong, rejected the group’s ransom demand. The kidnappers had demanded at least seven million pesos in exchange for the lives of the hostages.
Six of those executed Nonoy Ampoy, Loloy Teodoro, Roger Francisco, Toto Milas, Wilmer Santos and Dennis delos Reyes were all working for Loong’s construction firm, reports said.
The victims were heading to work when militants kidnapped them. Police and military tagged the leader of the gang as Albader Parad, a notorious Abu Sayyaf commander, blamed for the spate of attacks against civilians and military targets in Jolo.
Others reports said two government soldiers traveling on a civilian jeep were also kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf at a checkpoint in Parang town, but the military said it has no information about the attack.
Security forces are also battling Moro National Liberation Front rebels on the island and the clashes left at least 21 soldiers and gunmen dead and more than 100 wounded since fighting began April 13.
MNLF leader Habier Malik on Thursday warned of more attacks. “There will be more bloodshed. We are not afraid to die fighting the enemies,” he said.
Malik accused the military of violating the September 1996 peace agreement, saying, troops, pursuing the Abu Sayyaf, had killed MNLF members and innocent civilians in several armed encounters on the island.
He said had repeatedly soldiers encroached in MNLF areas, sparking sporadic clashes. The military also accused the MNLF of coddling the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya bombers in Jolo, a charged strongly denied by Malik.
Malik has declared a holy war against the military.
The MNLF rebels, under Chieftain Nur Misuari, signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government in September 1996. After the peace agreement was signed, Misuari became the governor of the Muslim autonomous region. But despite the accord, there was a widespread disillusionment with the weak autonomy they were granted.
Under the peace agreement, Manila would provide a mini-Marshal Plan to spur economic development in Muslim areas in the south and livelihood and housing assistance to tens of thousands of former rebels to uplift their poor living standards.
Many MNLF members were disgruntled with the peace deal, saying, the Arroyo government failed to comply with some of its provisions and uplift their standards of living. They accused Manila of failing to develop the war-torn areas in the south.
And in November 2001, on the eve of the elections in the Muslim autonomous region, Misuari accused the government of reneging on the peace agreement, and launched a new rebellion in Jolo island and Zamboanga City, where more than 100 people were killed.
Misuari then escaped by boat to Malaysia, but had been arrested and deported to the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
The hostages, six of them construction workers and the remaining a fisherman, had been kidnapped April 15 in Parang town. Their severed heads were sent to a military post on the island, said Maj. Eugene Batara, a regional army spokesman.
“Our troops are pursuing the terrorists,” Batara told the Mindanao Examiner. He did not say whether the bodies had been recovered or not.
The Abu Sayyaf decapitated the hostages after the island’s governor, Benjamin Loong, rejected the group’s ransom demand. The kidnappers had demanded at least seven million pesos in exchange for the lives of the hostages.
Six of those executed Nonoy Ampoy, Loloy Teodoro, Roger Francisco, Toto Milas, Wilmer Santos and Dennis delos Reyes were all working for Loong’s construction firm, reports said.
The victims were heading to work when militants kidnapped them. Police and military tagged the leader of the gang as Albader Parad, a notorious Abu Sayyaf commander, blamed for the spate of attacks against civilians and military targets in Jolo.
Others reports said two government soldiers traveling on a civilian jeep were also kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf at a checkpoint in Parang town, but the military said it has no information about the attack.
Security forces are also battling Moro National Liberation Front rebels on the island and the clashes left at least 21 soldiers and gunmen dead and more than 100 wounded since fighting began April 13.
MNLF leader Habier Malik on Thursday warned of more attacks. “There will be more bloodshed. We are not afraid to die fighting the enemies,” he said.
Malik accused the military of violating the September 1996 peace agreement, saying, troops, pursuing the Abu Sayyaf, had killed MNLF members and innocent civilians in several armed encounters on the island.
He said had repeatedly soldiers encroached in MNLF areas, sparking sporadic clashes. The military also accused the MNLF of coddling the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya bombers in Jolo, a charged strongly denied by Malik.
Malik has declared a holy war against the military.
The MNLF rebels, under Chieftain Nur Misuari, signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government in September 1996. After the peace agreement was signed, Misuari became the governor of the Muslim autonomous region. But despite the accord, there was a widespread disillusionment with the weak autonomy they were granted.
Under the peace agreement, Manila would provide a mini-Marshal Plan to spur economic development in Muslim areas in the south and livelihood and housing assistance to tens of thousands of former rebels to uplift their poor living standards.
Many MNLF members were disgruntled with the peace deal, saying, the Arroyo government failed to comply with some of its provisions and uplift their standards of living. They accused Manila of failing to develop the war-torn areas in the south.
And in November 2001, on the eve of the elections in the Muslim autonomous region, Misuari accused the government of reneging on the peace agreement, and launched a new rebellion in Jolo island and Zamboanga City, where more than 100 people were killed.
Misuari then escaped by boat to Malaysia, but had been arrested and deported to the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
Friday, January 05, 2007
Troops Hunt Bandits Behind Killing Of 2 Kidnapped Traders In Southern Philippines
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 05 Jan) – Government soldiers were hunting down a group of bandits behind the gruesome murder of two kidnapped traders in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Norte, officials said Friday.
Officials said the two men, seized last week, were beheaded. The bodies were discovered by patrolling soldiers two days ago on a remote village in Sibuco town.
The motive of the killing was unknown, although the police and military suspect the victims may have been executed after they failed to pay ransom money. There were no immediate statements from the victims' families.
Officials said no individual or group claimed responsibility for the grizzly murder, but the police tagged a former commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front-turned-bandit leader Majid Abdulhaman as responsible for the killings.
“There is an operation in the town,” said Major Eugene Batarra, a regional army spokesman. Aside from bandits, MILF rebels and Abu Sayyaf militants, whose group is tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya, are actively operating in the area. (Mindanao Examiner)
Officials said the two men, seized last week, were beheaded. The bodies were discovered by patrolling soldiers two days ago on a remote village in Sibuco town.
The motive of the killing was unknown, although the police and military suspect the victims may have been executed after they failed to pay ransom money. There were no immediate statements from the victims' families.
Officials said no individual or group claimed responsibility for the grizzly murder, but the police tagged a former commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front-turned-bandit leader Majid Abdulhaman as responsible for the killings.
“There is an operation in the town,” said Major Eugene Batarra, a regional army spokesman. Aside from bandits, MILF rebels and Abu Sayyaf militants, whose group is tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya, are actively operating in the area. (Mindanao Examiner)
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