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JOLO, Philippines (AFP) — A South Korean captain and a Filipino crewman abducted by suspected Islamist militants in the southern Philippines three months ago were released on Saturday, the presidential peace adviser said. Jesus Dureza, a senior aide to President Rodrigo Duterte, fetched the two hostages in Sulu, a remote archipelago known as a militant hideout, and brought them to Davao, a city about 600 kilometres (370 miles) from Sulu. “We were almost hopeless […]
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — Four crew from a Philippine-flagged fishing vessel have been snatched in waters off the country’s south where Abu Sayyaf Islamic militants have previously taken hostages, the military said Wednesday. A sister vessel found the unmanned FB Ramona 2 in the Celebes Sea early Tuesday, two hours after the crew of both vessels made their last radio contact, regional military spokesman Major Filemon Tan said. Tan told reporters that seamen from the […]
(Eagle News)– The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will continue its operation against Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) even during the holidays, Western Mindanao Command spokesperson Major Felimon Tan said Thursday (December 15). “The Western Mindanao Command and units under it will continue to operate this holiday season,” Tan said. Tan added that the decision for the troops for their holiday leave is up to their commanders. AFP chief Lt. Gen. Eduardo Año earlier said […]
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AFP) — Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippines have freed two Indonesian hostages, the military said on Monday, as the army mounted an offensive against the Islamist kidnapping group. The two were among seven crew seized from a tugboat off the southern Philippines in June. The others have already been released. They were undergoing medical checks and would later be turned over to Indonesian government representatives, the military said in a […]
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AFP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte raised the prospect Friday of holding peace talks with Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic militant group which has abducted dozens of foreign sailors in recent months, offering federalism as a possible solution. In an apparent about-face, Duterte appealed to the Abu Sayyaf, who are also blamed for the country’s deadliest terror attacks, to come to the negotiating table. “We cannot be forever treating human beings here, seriously […]
THE Philippines on Thursday (November 10) agreed to allow Malaysia and Indonesia to carry out “hot pursuits” in its territorial waters, as they look to combat kidnappings and piracy by Islamist Abu Sayyaf rebels. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Najib Razak after a meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is on a two-day visit to Malaysia. “If we’re chasing the bad guys, for example, and we reach the international maritime boundaries […]
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — Islamic militants who specialise in kidnappings-for-ransom have reported killing a German sailor and abducting her elderly male companion from their yacht in waters off the southern Philippines, the military said Monday. A commander from the Abu Sayyaf group, which has earned many millions of dollars by kidnapping foreigners and beheaded others after ransoms demands were not met, claimed responsibility for the latest incidents, regional military spokesman Filemon Tan told AFP. […]
MANILA, Philippines | AFP | — Terrorist groups are planning kidnappings on central Philippine islands that are popular with tourists, the US embassy has warned, fuelling concerns Islamic militants infamous for hostage taking are roaming wider. A travel advisory from the US embassy in Manila on Thursday warned Americans to avoid the southern regions of Cebu island, one of the nation’s most popular tourist sites because of its idyllic beaches, spectacular diving and whale […]
JOLO, Philippines (AFP)– Islamic militants in the Philippines have freed three Indonesian sailors abducted at sea, officials said, in the latest release by the Abu Sayyaf group after a kidnapping spree in the restive south. The Abu Sayyaf handed over the three men on Jolo island to a major rebel group which then released them to authorities on Sunday, government peace negotiator Jesus Dureza said. “The turnover was smooth and now the three will […]
(Reuters) Abu Sayyaf rebels linked to Islamic State freed three more Indonesian captives on Sunday after a three-month ordeal, the Philippine government said, taking the number of hostages released to nine in the past two weeks. They were handed over in Sulu to Nur Misuari, founder of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a Muslim rebel group that has signed a peace deal with the government. It was not clear whether a ransom was paid. […]
MANILA, Philippines (Eagle News) — The Abu Sayyaf bandits released on Thursday, September 22, another Indonesian sailor they seized over a month ago in the high seas of Sabah. Released was Herman Bin Manggak, According to Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., Western Mindanao Command (WESTMINCOM) Spokesperson. Manggak was initially taken to a camp of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Sitio Bakud, Barangay Kagay, Indanan, Sulu. Tan told the Philippines News Agency that the MNLF […]
MANILA, Philippines (Eagle News) — Messages of thanks are rolling in for the Philippine government and President Rodrigo Duterte after months of negotiation and weeks of fighting with Abu Sayyaf militants finally paid off last weekend. The first message of thanks came from Kjartan Sekkingstad, the Norwegian resort manager who spent nearly a year in captivity after he was nabbed along with three others from Samal Island last September.
