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| Southeast Asia |
| Philippines arrests Abu Sayyaf thug |
| 2004-03-19 |
| Authorities said Friday they have arrested a Muslim guerrilla who confessed to kidnapping an American man in the southern Philippines four years ago. National police chief Hermogenes Ebdane said Alkis Asari Alih, 28, also known as Abu Jarin, was arrested last Saturday in southern Zamboanga city. During initial interrogation, Alih, a member of the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf, confessed to participating in the abduction of Jeffrey Schilling, a Muslim convert seized in August 2000 after traveling to an Abu Sayyaf camp on Jolo island, Ebdane said. Schilling, of Oakland, California, escaped after almost eight months in captivity. His abduction initially set off doubts whether he was a hostage because he voluntarily traveled to the camp with his Filipina girlfriend. But Schilling later testified that Abu Sabaya, one of the group's leaders, had refused to let him go on suspicion that he worked for the CIA. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |