|
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
7 suspected Sayyafs captured in Tawi-Tawi
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Troops raided an Abu Sayyaf hideout and captured 7 militants, one them believed to be a middle-level commander, implicated by the military in the 2002 kidnapping of four Indonesian tugboat crew members off the southern Philippines, officials said.
Security forces raided the hideout in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi and captured the militants last week, but the arrest was only announced Monday because of the continuing military operation against the Abu Sayyaf.
One of those captured was Jundam Jamalul, whose group was allegedly behind the kidnapping of the sailors on June 17, 2002.
The four victims were abducted by armed men who boarded the tugboat towing the Indonesian-flagged barge Labroy 179 near Basilan Island, the Abu Sayyaf's main base.
Three of the hostages later escaped separately, while the fourth died in captivity.
The Abu Sayyaf has been labeled a terrorist organization by both Manila and Washington, and is said to have links with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
It is the most violent of the four main rebel groups fighting for an Islamic homeland in the southern Philippines, and is known for its method of kidnapping foreigners for ransom.
Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf group as a foreign terrorist organization and offered as much as $5 million each for the capture of its known leaders, tagged as behind the kidnapping and killing of US citizens in the southern Philippines. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(September 27, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Ballot boxes in poll protest brought to SC