Muslim guerrillas have freed a government doctor apparently out of fear of an impending army commando rescue, officials said Sunday. Dr. Avelrio Canda Jr. was released unharmed by his captors late Thursday and was presented to the press by military officials Sunday after medical checkups and debriefing, said Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza, who heads the military's Southern Command. Canda's captors, young armed rebels with links to the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf, apparently saw soldiers near their jungle camps a number of times and feared the military was bracing to rescue the captive, prompting them to free him, Braganza said. | "Cheezit, Mahmoud! The coppers are coming! Feets, don't fail me now!" |
The captors had demanded a ransom of five million pesos (US$89,300) for the freedom of Canda, who was taken at gunpoint by the rebels on Nov. 19 from a hospital in Parang town on southern Jolo island, about 960 kilometers (595 miles) south of Manila. Officials said no ransom was paid. Some military intelligence officials have speculated that Canda may have been taken by Abu Sayyaf guerrillas to have a sick or wounded comrade treated. But he said he was kidnapped for ransom. | Strapped for cash...my third favorite description of a terror organization. Right after "In Jug and Cooperating" and "Deceased." |
| You forgot "Screaming in pain" |
| And my personal favorite, "Sucking chest wound". |
| I'm partial to "hideously maimed," too... |
Canda said his captors chained his hands and feet often. "I worried if I would still be alive at the end of each day," Canda told reporters, fighting back tears. Canda said that his young armed captors, some as young as 15 years old, told him they were hired in the past by the Abu Sayyaf to help carry out kidnappings for ransom. They often discussed their dream for a separate Muslim homeland in the southern Philippines, he said. | Shame on Abu Bakar Bashir, filling the heads of impoverished pinoy with Sharia fairytales. |
The Abu Sayyaf, which has been linked to al-Qaida, have staged high-profile mass kidnappings of Filipinos and foreigners for ransom. It has been considerably weakened by U.S.-backed military offensives, surrenders and factionalism but could still launch bombings and other attacks, military officials said. | At least until the money runs out. Bwahahahaha! |
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