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Saturday, April 21, 2007
Bodies of 7 decapitated hostages recovered
MANILA -- Soldiers on Friday found the bodies of the seven workers who were beheaded by their Abu Sayyaf captors last Thursday and whose heads were delivered to a military detachment in Sulu.
The bodies and the heads of the seven victims are due to be airlifted to Zamboanga City anytime Friday, according to Brigadier General Ruperto Pabustan, commander of the military's Joint Special Operations Task Group.
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Reacting to the beheading, as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday said the government is resolved more than ever to neutralize the Abu Sayyaf.
Fresh troops from the United States military arrived Friday in Zamboanga City to replace the American soldiers stationed in the southern Philippines who had been recalled back to their mother unit.
The troops would replace those stationed in this city and in Jolo, Sulu but they would not involve themselves with operations against the bandits who beheaded seven people in Sulu, said Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) information officer Major John Redfield.
The seven workers were abducted last Sunday on a highway in Parang town. The abductors led by Abu Sayyaf leader Albader Parad later demanded P5 million in exchange for the freedom of their captives.
On Thursday after failing to get their ransom they demanded, the terrorists delivered the decapitated heads of all the seven captives to two detachments of the Army's 33rd Infantry Battalion in Parang town.
"The bodies were found just this morning. The bodies are due to be transported to Zamboanga where the victims are from. Governor (Benjamin) Loong will bring them (victims) back to their families," said Pabustan.
Pabustan did not give additional details but Army spokesman Ernesto Torres, quoting sketchy reports from the field, said the bodies were tied when found at the boundaries of Parang and Indanan towns.
Torres however could not say if the area where the bodies were found was the site where beheading took place.
Brigadier General Ruben Rafael, commander of the military's Joint Task Force, said the Abu Sayyaf beheaded the victims in retaliation to the recent killing of one of their leaders in an encounter with soldiers in the province.
Rafael also said the Abu Sayyaf could have beheaded the workers because their employers did not pay the P5 million ransom. Reports had it that the ransom demand was coursed through civilians.
Armed Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr., meanwhile, said he does not think that the group of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Ustadz Habier Malik is responsible for the beheading, saying Malik is being pursed in Panamao town.
Malik is being pursued by the military for the attacks he launched against civilian and military targets in Panamao and Talipao towns over the weekend. Esperon has raised a P1 million bounty for the capture of Malik.
In Sulu, Torres said, field commanders have been directed by Army Chief Romeo Tolentino to step up operations against the Abu Sayyaf to prevent the group from doing more "barbaric acts."
"That (beheading) itself is deplorable. It has to stop. That's why last night (Thursday night) our commanding general issued a guidance to Army field commanders in Sulu to intensify the military operations so that we could put an end on this terrorist action," said Torres.
Arroyo said "the beheading of the seven captives in Sulu once again demonstrates the Abu Sayyaf's ruthlessness and only strengthens our resolve to neutralize them."
She assured that the grisly act "will not go unpunished."
"Our troops are committed to the singular objective of obliteration while keeping civilians out of danger zones," Arroyo added. (VR/JMR/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (April 21, 2007 issue)
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