Monday, December 29, 2003
Abu Sayyaf gunmen captured (1:45 p.m.)
ZAMBOANGA -- Two men believed to be field commanders of the Muslim Abu Sayyaf kidnap gang have been captured following military raids in the southern Philippines at the weekend, the military said Monday.
Troops arrested Alih Malabon, also known as Abu Nidal, and Mohammad Said, alias Commander Kaiser, in operations Saturday near the southern port city of Zamboanga, the military southern command said.
Malabon has a P1 million bounty on his head and is believed to head a rebel unit directly receiving orders from overall Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani, who remains at large.
Malabon and Said are implicated in the murders of Americans Guillermo Sobero and Martin Burnham, two of three US hostages kidnapped by the group from a beach resort in May 2001.
Martin Burnham's wife, Gracia, was rescued by US and Filipino troops after a year in captivity.
The Abu Sayyaf is a small group of bandits styling themselves as Islamic militants. The US and Philippine Governments, however, consider the group a foreign terrorist organization and officials said it once had links with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Last Saturday, a soldier was killed and another wounded while trying to disarm a homemade bomb allegedly planted by Abu Sayyaf rebels near an airport in southern Jolo island.
The gunmen earlier this warned they would launch retaliatory attacks after the military captured Galib Andang, known also as Commander Robot, one of the group's top lieutenants who engineered a daring kidnapping raid on Malaysian resorts in 2000. AFP |
