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| Southeast Asia |
| Indonesian hostage freed |
| 2005-09-13 |
| After six months being held hostage by Philippine Islamic militants, Indonesian sailor Ahmad Resmiyadi was finally released on Sunday. Ferry Adamhar of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the release, but declined to provide details. He was quoted by news portal detik.com as saying that Ahmad was scheduled to arrive in Jakarta late on Monday and would be reunited with his family. Other officials of the ministry could not be reached for comment. Ahmad was one of the three Indonesian seamen kidnapped late in March by a Philippine militant group calling itself the Jamiat al Islamiah of Southern Mindanao after their Malaysian-flagged boat was attacked off Malaysia's Sabah region. Philippine troops in June managed to free two hostages, Yamin Labaso and Erikson Hutagaol, after troops clashed with the kidnappers on the southern Philippine island of Jolo, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group of Islamic militants, which in turn has been linked by the United States and Philippine governments to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. It is not clear whether money was paid to the kidnappers for the release of Ahmad, with the militants reportedly demanding a US$790,000 ransom. Security analysts have said that while the Abu Sayyaf may be on the run, it could also be building links with foreign militants from the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror network who have sought refuge in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |