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| Southeast Asia |
| Search Efforts Fail to Find Kidnapped Europeans in Philippines |
| 2012-02-03 |
| [An Nahar] Philippine authorities said Thursday they had failed to find two European birdwatchers in the crucial 24 hours after their abduction and warned Islamic Islamic fascisti may be holding them. Hundreds of Marines quickly joined the search for Swiss national Lorenzo Vinciguerra, 47, and Dutchman Ewold Horn, 52, who were seized by gunnies on a tiny island in the lawless south of the country on Wednesday. "There is a massive search-and-rescue operation right now to find the kidnappers and their captives," regional military front man Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang told Agence La Belle France Presse. "Though, as of the moment, we have not pinpointed their exact location." Cabangbang said it remained unclear who kidnapped the men, but noted a spate of other kidnappings of foreigners in the south that were blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf ...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... group. "We cannot rule out the possibility that the Abu Sayyaf is involved," he said. "However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... I must stress there are other gangs, including pirates, who also operate in these waters." Ivan Sarenas, a Filipino guide for the two wildlife enthusiasts, was also kidnapped, but said he managed to jump off a boat that was taking the kidnapped men away. "There was a passing boat and I decided to go for it. I held the barrel of the long firearm of the man in front of me with one arm and jumped out," he told AFP by phone. Cabangbang said the first 24 hours were crucial in deciding the fate of people kidnapped in the area because this was when they were typically taken into the abductors' rugged jungle lairs on remote islands. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 A useful site, gromky. :-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2012-02-03 23:34 |
#1 Virtually all US, Canadian, Australian and European nations have advised their nationals in the Philippines to NOT travel to the southern Philippines because of the probable threat of being kidnapped for ransom. |
| Posted by: gromky 2012-02-03 23:13 |