Philippine forces have captured four Abu Sayyaf Muslim rebels allegedly involved in kidnapping and killing foreigners, officials said Saturday. Brigadier General Gabriel Habacon, chief of the anti-Abu Sayyaf Task Force Comet, said his men captured Michael Pajiji, alleged to have helped kidnap 21 Westerners, Malaysians and Filipinos from Malaysian resorts in Sipadan in April, 2000. Pajiji was arrested Monday on the southern island of Jolo where the hostages had been held but his capture was only revealed after he had been questioned. Most of the Sipadan hostages were freed in Jolo only after hefty ransom payments were made. Pajiji admitted to reporters that he was a member of the Abu Sayyaf but insisted that he only joined in 2002.
| "Nope. Nope. Wudn't me. Before that I was doin' humanitarian work in Afghanistan." |
Meanwhile, regional police director Chief Superintendent Servando Hizon said three other Abu Sayyaf members had been captured in the southern city of Zamboanga and the nearby island of Basilan earlier in the week. Alih Alkis, who helped in the abduction of four Americans, was caught Tuesday in Zamboanga City, Hizon said. Alkis had allegedly helped detain American Jeffrey Schilling in Jolo in 2000 and later helped abduct Americans Guillermo Sobero and missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and 17 Filipinos from a resort in the western island of Palawan in 2001. Schilling was eventually rescued but Sobero was beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf while Martin Burnham was killed in the rescue operation that recovered his wife. ``Alkis was tagged as among those who beheaded the American hostage,'' Hizon added. Two other Abu Sayyaf members captured included Kissinger Hocson Tan, who took part in the Palawan abductions, and Abdullah Masuhud who allegedly helped the Abu Sayyaf fight off pursuing troops in Basilan island while they were holding Sobero and the Burnhams, Hizon said. |