New anti-kidnapping force launched
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
MANILA -- The police have launched a new anti-kidnapping force to deal with the long-standing scourge by criminal syndicates and al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Kidnappings for ransom have been cited for spooking would-be investors and tourists and allowing al-Qaeda-linked groups like the Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines to finance terrorist attacks and endure years of US-backed military crackdowns that have severed their known ties with foreign donors.
National police chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome said Tuesday that the Anti-kidnapping Group would focus solely on the problem and replace the Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response, which dealt for a decade with hundreds of abduction cases but also high-profile killings and other crimes. (AP)
