Hello !
Recent Appearances... Rantburg
Abu Sayyaf Abu Sayyaf al-Tawhid Middle East 20030927  
  Abu Sayyaf Takfir wal Hijra Middle East 20031025  

Southeast Asia
Abu Sayyaf kills Philippine soldier
2013-05-09
Suspected Abu Sayyaf terrorists rebels killed a Muslim soldier and injured another in an attack in the southern Philippine town of Jolo.

The soldiers were traveling on a motorcycle when the terrorists rebels attacked them in the village of Kasanyangan. The attackers escaped the shooting. Army Col. Rodrigo Gregorio, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, said, “They were shot by two Abu Sayyaf terrorists who escaped after the attack."

He added, “The Abu Sayyaf will do anything to terrorize the people, both innocent civilians and soldiers as well. Their latest victims were fellow Muslims and who just came from relatives and they were not spared from becoming targets of atrocities."
Link


Southeast Asia
Two Philippine soldiers killed in Basilan
2013-05-02
Muslim terrorists extremists linked to Al Qaeda killed at least two soldiers in an ambush yesterday in Basilan province.

Military spokesman Col. Rodrigo Gregorio said today members of Abu Sayyaf terrorists militants killed Sgt. Richard Hamin and Private First Class Julieto Tanses in an attack around 1:00 p.m. in Lamitan City.

Gregorio said both soldiers died of multiple wounds. He said, "They were heading back to their camp when they were ambushed."
Link


Southeast Asia
Two Filipino army intel officers killed by Abu Sayyaf
2013-04-29
A Philippine military commander says two army intelligence officers have been killed by suspected al-Qaeda-linked terrorists militants while on a surveillance mission on Basilan Island.

Col. Carlito Galvez says two suspected Abu Sayyaf terrorists militants on a motorcycle gunned down the two soldiers Sunday in Lamitan city. The gunmen are believed to be part of an urban-based hit squad.

Galvez says the Abu Sayyaf has also given sanctuary on the island to some foreign terrorists militants linked to Jemaah Islamiyah.
Link


Southeast Asia
Philippine military overruns Abu Sayyaf camp
2013-04-19
Overlooked story from earlier this week.
The Philippines military overran an Abu Sayyaf camp in a three-hour firefight, killing at least eight terrorists bandits.

Col. Carlito Galvez said Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon received a "slight wound" on the head during Monday's incident in Tipo-Tipo and is facing kidnapping and murder charges. Galvez denied claims by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that they were the target of the early morning attack.

He said, "No, the MILF was not the target. It's just that the location of the Abu Sayyaf's lair was only 300 meters from the MILF position. The target really was the bandits' lair. Perhaps, the bandits believed the MILF will help them if attacked but during the firefight the MILF did not help them. Our soldiers were able to overrun the ASG camp in an hour."
Link


Southeast Asia
Filipino troops attack Abu Sayyaf hideout, kill 7
2013-04-15
More than 100 Filipino troops attacked a mountainous stronghold of two al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf commanders, including one on the FBI's list of most-wanted terrorists, sparking clashes Monday that killed at least seven militants in the country's south.

The offensive targeted Abu Sayyaf commanders Isnilon Hapilon and Puruji Indama in the outskirts of Tipo Tipo town on Basilan Island, but it was not clear if the two were hit or managed to escape during the main assault after dawn and two clashes that erupted afterward, army brigade commander Col. Carlito Galvez said.

At least three soldiers were wounded in the clashes with about 30 Abu Sayyaf gunmen, the military said.

Washington has offered a $5 million reward for the capture or killing of Hapilon, who has been accused of involvement in deadly bomb attacks, kidnappings and beheadings, including of Americans in the past, landing him on the list of the FBI's most-wanted terrorists.

Indama has been wanted by Philippine authorities for his alleged involvement in deadly bombings and kidnappings of several people, including a former Australian soldier who was freed last month after 15 months of jungle captivity after ransom was paid.

Indama has been blamed for the 2007 beheadings of 10 marines in Basilan, a widely condemned atrocity that prompted a major military offensive against the militants.
Link


Down Under
Philippine ransom payment mystery causes concern
2013-04-11
The Philippine home of kidnapped Australian Warren Rodwell has not been sold, leading to questions about the source of a $94,600 ransom paid to Islamic terrorists for his release last month.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino has ordered an investigation into the ransom payment, which military officials have warned will be used to fund more kidnappings and terrorist attacks.

Miraflor Gutang, who married Mr Rodwell five months before he was kidnapped, has claimed she sold the house and other property to raise the ransom for an Abu Sayyaf kidnap gang. But days after the kidnapping on December 5, 2011, Ms Gutang told local reporters her family was poor and could not raise any ransom.

When Mr Rodwell was released after almost 15 months, he rebuffed her attempts to see him and went from the southern Philippines to Manila to recuperate from the ordeal which left him frail and emaciated.

Police involved in the case are refusing to discuss the source of the ransom money but other sources speculate the money came from Australia.
Link


Southeast Asia
Freed Aussie hostage Rodwell mistaken for tourist
2013-03-25
A maritime policeman apparently thought freed Australian hostage Warren Rodwell was a tourist when he staggered out of the water in the southern Philippines on Saturday.

The 54-year-old former soldier was released early Saturday morning after a 15-month hostage ordeal. He was abducted from his home on Mindanao in December 2011 by Abu Sayyaf. An emaciated Mr Rodwell has been receiving medical care and will soon by reunited with his siblings, who have arrived in the country.

Maritime police told local media how a mud-spattered Mr Rodwell took them by surprise when he waded ashore in the dark port city of Pagadian on Saturday. When asked "Are you a tourist?" Rodwell answered, "No, I'm not a tourist, I'm a kidnap victim. Please help me."

Police video has emerged of Rodwell describing to police how he was how he was put in a boat and told by his terrorist militant captors to paddle for his life. The same video shows him pulling up his t-shirt to reveal his gaunt body, which he likened to a "racing dog".

Mr Rodwell's family secured his release by paying a 4 million pesos ($93,000 ransom). Local vice governor Al Rasheed Sakkalahol, who helped broker Mr Rodwell's release at the request of his Filipino wife Flor, said, "They agreed among themselves the family was going to pay in return 4 million pesos to the kidnapper, because that is the only way they can get back Mr Rodwell."

Australian foreign minister Bob Carr said the government had refused to pay the demanded $US2 million ransom. In the Philippines, there have been a number of cases in which ransom has not been paid and the hostages were then beheaded by Abu Sayyaf terrorists militants.

Journalist Maria Ressa faced this dilemma first hand when three of her colleagues were taken. Despite serious misgivings, a ransom was also paid for their release.

She said that while governments do not sanction it, they do facilitate it to save lives. She said, "Both Australian and the Philippine government have said that no ransom has paid. Both of them have a policy that they don't pay ransom, a public policy, but as we know in the Philippines and I know firsthand, ransom is paid inevitably in these situations."

The kidnappers had reportedly planned to execute Mr Rodwell over the weekend. In a video released by Abu Sayyaf in December, Rodwell lashed out, saying he did not trust his kidnappers or the Australian government and that he had no faith he would ever be released.

But as Australian ambassador to the Philippines, Bill Tweddell, pointed out, "I think it’s important to remember the timing and the context of that. His sole source of advice has probably been from his captors and so who of us known how he would feel, how he would sustain hope, in conditions like that."
Link


Southeast Asia
Abu Sayyaf frees Australian hostage
2013-03-23
Islamic terrorists militants in the Philippines have released Australian citizen Warren Rodwell, 15 months after kidnapping him from his house in the south of the country.

Regional military commander Lieutenant General Rainier Cruz said, "Warren Rodwell has been released in Pagadian city. It is confirmed and he is now (in) the custody of the police in Pagadian city."

A photo and video taken by a reporter at the police station early Saturday showed a gaunt but smiling Warren Rodwell sitting alongside two policemen. In the video, Rodwell takes off his T-shirt and stands up to show off his body, smiling as he points to his ribs and says: "lose weight".

The kidnappers, from the Abu Sayyaf terrorist militant group, had previously released a series of video clips of Rodwell to prove he was still in their custody. In one of the videos, Rodwell said his captors wanted $2 million in ransom. It was unclear Saturday if any ransom money was paid for his release.

Al Rashid Sakalahul, the vice governor of Basilan island who negotiated with the Abu Sayyaf for Rodwell's release, said the terrorists militants called him up to confirm the hostage was freed in Pagadian. He said, "Thank God that our problem has been solved. I did what I had to do. I've done my part, my duty and my responsibility as an elected official in Basilan."

Sakalahul would not say if ransom money was paid, insisting he merely served as an intermediary. He said, "Rodwell's family directly negotiated with the kidnappers and I do not know if they paid ransom... my role was to get Rodwell out safely."
Link


Southeast Asia
Sayyaf terrorist nabbed in Zamboanga City
2013-03-17
Police have arrested a suspected Abu Sayyaf terrorist militant accused in the 2001 attack on rubber plantation workers in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.

Police identified the suspect as Jailani Basirul, who was nabbed in downtown Zamboanga. A police report said Basirul was among those who killed about a dozen workers in Tairan rubber plantation in Lamitan City.

Basirul has several arrest warrants and is now being interrogated by authorities. It was not clear whether the man was plotting an attack or hiding in Zamboanga.
Link


Southeast Asia
Abu Sayyaf release trader held captive in Philippines
2013-02-23
A Filipino trader being held captive by suspected Abu Sayyaf terrorists militants in the southern Philippines was released on Friday, local police said later that day.

Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca said the victim, a man named Edgar Fabella, was abandoned by his captors around 10:00 a.m. at the port of Jolo in Sulu province.

Fabella, who was seized last month in southern Philippine city of Zamboanga by the Abu Sayyaf, said that he was treated well and no ransom had been paid to the kidnappers in exchange for his freedom.
Link


Southeast Asia
Aquino suspects sabotage of peace talks
2013-02-20
The standoff in Sabah has infuriated Philippine President Aquino, who suspects that the incident is intended to sabotage his administration’s peace initiatives with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), reliable sources said yesterday.

The well placed sources said Malacañang believes Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III is not acting on his own in highlighting his family’s claim over Sabah. Kiram, the sources noted, is sick and is undergoing dialysis.

Among those being considered by administration officials as possible instigators of Kiram are Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chieftain Nur Misuari, former national security adviser Norberto Gonzales and even the President’s uncle, former Tarlac congressman Jose “Peping” Cojuangco and his wife Margarita, who is running for senator under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

Up to 300 of Kiram's followers are holed up in Sabah and have been surrounded by Malaysian security forces. Kiram has said his followers would not leave because “Sabah is our home.”

The sources said that the President was furious over the Sabah incident, as it came on the heels of progress achieved in the government’s peace initiative with the MILF.

The sources said the standoff in Sabah may also be linked to the recent attacks by an MNLF faction identified with Misuari on Abu Sayyaf strongholds in Jolo, Sulu, ostensibly to secure the release of hostages. Misuari, who is running as an independent candidate for governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the May elections, points out that the government has not fully implemented the peace agreement signed with the MNLF in 1996.

The sources suggested that the standoff in Sabah is seen as a way of derailing the peace process with the MILF.

A military official earlier said Kiram’s Royal Sultanate Army began recruiting members over ten years ago. The official, who asked not to be named, said, “In the following years, they never gave the Philippine government any problem until this standoff in Sabah…until they went to Lahad Datu and declared they have the right to stay in Sabah.”

The official pointed out that even the reported armed encounter between the MNLF and Abu Sayyaf in Sulu looked like an acoustic war, with no bodies being found despite reports of casualties on both sides.
Link


Southeast Asia
Malaysia in standoff with suspected Philippine terrorists
2013-02-15
Malaysian security forces have surrounded dozens of suspected Philippine terrorists militants in a remote area.

Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said about 80 to 100 gunmen have been cornered in the state of Sabah on Borneo island. He said security forces were negotiating with the men near the small coastal town of Lahad Datu. Hishammuddin said, "We know the situation is still under control. I confirm that no Malaysian citizens, to my knowledge, are being held hostage or for ransom. Security forces are still in control and negotiating with them, some of whom are armed."

He declined to confirm that the gunmen were from the adjacent southern Philippines. But asked whether authorities were involved in negotiations, Hishammuddin said, "Of course they will have to be involved in the operations."

Earlier Thursday, Prime Minister Najib Razak said, "We have surrounded the area and our police and armed forces have the ability to handle the matter." A tight security ring including army and naval forces has been thrown around the "heavily armed" group.

A statement by National police chief Ismail Omar Wednesday had said the men had surrendered when ordered and the situation was defused. The government has not yet explained the about-face.

A Philippine military official said that Manila did not rule out the possibility that the men could be members of the Abu Sayyaf. Philippine southern command military chief Lieutenant General Rey Ardo said, "We have received similar reports but we cannot confirm, nor rule out, whether they are members of the ASG (Abu Sayyaf group). Other lawless elements as well as (Filipino) pirates are also known to stray into Malaysian waters."
Link


1179 More