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Southeast Asia

Man who beheaded two in 2001 arrested in Zamboanga

2018-01-23

[Inquirer] An Abu Sayyaf militant tagged as the one who beheaded two Filipino workers in 2001 in a bloody gesture of mocking the then Arroyo administration has been arrested, the military said. The Abu Sayyaf had described the beheadings as an “Independence Day gift” to then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in retaliation for her refusal to call off military offensives against the terror group. Faizal Attong Sariul, alias Ziad, was tagged by witnesses as the man who beheaded two of the 17 workers of Golden Harvest, a company that runs a plantation in Lantawan, Basilan, who were kidnapped by the rebel group on June 11, 2001. Sariul was 17 years old then. Police spokesman Fergen Torred said Sariul who is now 38 years old and had been in hiding for 17 years, was arrested in the village of Mercedes in Zamboanga City. Torred said witnesses pointed to Sariul as the rebel who beheaded Golden Harvest workers Primitivo Falcasantos and Crisanto Suela, a day after they were kidnapped and just as the country celebrated Independence Day. The terrorists, mocking Arroyo, placed the workers’ severed heads in a box and left it on a roadside in Lantawan town, Basilan. When news of the atrocity spread, the Abu Sayyaf issued a statement declaring it to be their Independence Day gift to Arroyo. Several weeks after the two workers were beheaded, the Abu Sayyaf also beheaded another foreign hostage, American national Guillermo Sobero, to taunt Arroyo and mock military operations that had failed to pin the terrorists down.

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Southeast Asia

US Ambassador to Manila snubs Sulu officials

2014-06-09

The Smartest Men In the Room. (tm) US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg has inspected American troops stationed in the town of Jolo in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, but his visit was came under fire after he did not bother to meet with local government officials. Goldberg and embassy officials visited Jolo on June 2 and went straight to the Philippine Marine Brigade headquarters where US troops put up a small camp under the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines. Some sources said that local officials, who learned about Goldberg's visit, had even prepared and were ready to brief the former Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research in case he wanted to discuss peace and development efforts in the province. But no one from Goldberg's group nor the US Embassy informed the officials that the ambassador would not be meeting with them for still unknown reasons. Some officials said they felt insulted and likened the American ambassador to a cat. One official said, "You know, cats just go inside your house and leave whenever they want. Animals do not have courtesy." Many Muslims oppose the presence of US troops in Sulu because of the massacre of hundreds in what is known now as the "Bud Dajo Massacre" which happened over a century ago, but the memory of the American campaign is still fresh in the minds of many local Muslims. Some 600 US troops have been stationed in the region since 2001 after three American nationals - Kansas missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham, and California man Guillermo Sobero - were kidnapped from a posh resort by the Abu Sayyaf. Sobero was beheaded by militants connected to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya, while Martin was killed during a US-led rescue operation.

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Southeast Asia

Abu Sayyaf leader arrested in Zamboanga City

2012-06-22

A sub-commander for Abu Sayyaf thought to be involved in the beheading of an American hostage in 2001, among other offenses, was arrested in Zamboanga City Thursday afternoon. Police Director Samuel Pagdilao Jr. identified the suspect as Alawie Pasihul a.k.a Ustadz Asman, said to have been recruiting Muslim youths to the terrorist insurgent group. Joint police and military operating units arrested Asman with an arrest warrant for kidnapping and serious illegal detention. Pagdilao said Pasihul was involved in the kidnapping of 51 people— public school teachers, a priest and school children — in Basilan province; beheading of kidnapped victim Guillermo Sobero in 2001; and in the 2002 Cabatangan siege at Zamboanga City. Pasihul is a follower of the late Abu Sayyaf leader Abdurajak Janjalani and currently involved in recruiting Muslim youths for membership with ASG-AWLIYAH Group, based in Sulu, known for their ferocious attacks on Sulu-based Philippine Marines soldiers. Seized from Pasihul was a Moro National Liberation Front identification card under the name of BGen Habib Alawie Pasihul and a mobile phone.

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Southeast Asia

Philippines arrests suspect in 2001 US kidnaps

2012-05-28

[Straits Times] Philippine police have locked away Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! an alleged Islamist thug suspected of involvement in a 2001 kidnapping that left two Americans dead, an official said on Friday. Sahibul Sailani was jugged You have the right to remain silent... in the southern island of Basilan on Monday but police withheld the news until his interrogation was completed, said the provincial police chief, Senior Superintendent Alex Linesis. Sailani is accused of taking part in the abduction of three Americans and several Filipinos from an upscale western Philippine resort in 2001, Mr Linesis said. The hostages were taken by boat to Basilan where the gunnies later beheaded one of the Americans, Peru-born Guillermo Sobero

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Southeast Asia

Suspected Abu Sayyaf bad boy nabbed

2010-02-20

[Straits Times] PHILIPPINE troops arrested a suspected Muslim militant accused in the high-profile kidnappings of three Americans, two of whom were later killed, and dozens of Filipinos nine years ago, the military reported on Friday. It said Jumadali Arad was captured at Manila harbour on Thursday as he was about to board a ship bound for the southern Philippines, where the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group has planted bombs and carried out kidnappings despite US-backed military offensives against the militants. Arad had been in hiding since 2001, when Abu Sayyaf abducted three American and 17 Filipino tourists from the Dos Palmas resort in south-western Palawan province at the start of a year-long kidnapping spree, said marine commandant Major General Juancho Sabban. American missionary Gracia Burnham survived the jungle captivity, but husband Martin was killed in the military rescue in 2002. The third American, Guillermo Sobero, was beheaded by the militants on Basilan Island. Arad, who allegedly drove a speedboat loaded with the hostages during the kidnappings, was reportedly on a mission to buy ammunition for Abu Sayyaf commander Isnilon Hapilon when he was arrested on Thursday, the military said in a statement. Hapilon has been indicted in the US on kidnapping and murder charges, and Washington offered a US$5 million (S$7.07 million) reward for his capture.

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Southeast Asia

Suspected militant arrested

2009-09-02

[Straits Times] POLICE have captured a suspected Al-Qaeda-linked militant accused of high-profile kidnappings of at least four Americans and dozens of Filipinos in the southern Philippines, officials said on Tuesday. Last week's arrest of Hajer Sailani, an alleged member of the Abu Sayyaf, in a shopping mall in southern Cotabato city was the latest success of a crackdown that has netted several militants in the country's south and foiled kidnapping and terror plots, police said. Sailani has been linked to the 2000 kidnapping of American Jeffrey Schilling, a Muslim convert who travelled to an Abu Sayyaf jungle stronghold on southern Jolo Island but was held by the militants on suspicion that he was working for the CIA, police spokesman Leonardo Espina said. Schilling escaped eight months later. Did he remain Muslim after he left? Sailani also was allegedly involved in the 2001 kidnapping of three Americans and 17 Filipino tourists at the Dos Palmas resort in south-western Palawan province, which prompted Washington to deploy US troops to the southern Mindanao region to help the Philippine military rescue them, Mr Espina said. American missionary Gracia Burnham survived the yearlong jungle captivity, but husband Martin was killed in the military rescue in 2002. The third American, Guillermo Sobero, was beheaded by the militants on Basilan Island. Mr Espina said Sailani also played a role in the kidnappings of dozens of teachers, priests and students in two Basilan schools in 2000. Most of the hostages were freed or escaped, but at least two teachers were beheaded. A civilian informant on Tuesday received a US$7,000-dollar reward for the tip leading Sailani's arrest, national police chief Director General Jesus Versoza said. The national police 'will not rest until all terrorists and criminals are arrested, accounted for and neutralised,' Mr Espina said. Among those arrested recently was Dinno-Amor Rosalejos Pareja, alleged head of the Rajah Solaiman Movement that officials say was behind the 2004 Manila ferry bombing that killed 116 people in the country's worst terror attack.

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Southeast Asia

$3.6m reward for 3 Filipino militants

2009-05-28

[Straits Times] THE United States on Tuesday offered up to US$2.5 million (S$3.6 million) in rewards for tips leading to the capture of three Filipinos suspected of belonging to the 'terrorist' Abu Sayyaf group. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly announced a reward of up to US$1 million for information leading to the 'location, arrest and/or conviction' of suspect Radullan Sahiron, described as a senior leader of the group. I thought he was dead? Or was that wishful thinking? He also announced a prize of up to US$1 million for Abdul Basit Usman, an alleged bomb maker, and another of up to US$500,000 for Khair Mundos, an alleged leader and financier of the group. Sahiron was listed as a key prize. 'Many innocent men, women and children have been killed or seriously injured as a result of Sahiron's actions,' the statement from Mr Kelly said. 'Sahiron played a role in the May 2001 Dos Palmas kidnapping of three US citizens and 17 Filipinos from a tourist resort in Palawan, Philippines,' it added. US citizen Guillermo Sobero and other hostages were murdered, it said. The statement accused Sahiron of continuing 'to plot terror schemes' that affect communities in the southern island of Mindanao. 'US authorities consider Sahiron to be a threat to US and Filipino citizens and interests,' the statement said. Basit, meanwhile, 'is a bomb-making expert with links to the Jemaah Islamiah and Abu Sayyaf Group' and poses a threat to US and Filipino citizens and interests over his links to these groups Washington considers terrorist. 'He is believed to have orchestrated several bombings that have killed, injured, and maimed many innocent civilians,' the spokesman said. The statement said Mundos, who remains at large following a prison escape in 2007, was arrested in May 2004 'on the first-ever money laundering charges against terrorists' after a probe by US and Philippine officials. Mundos confessed to 'having arranged the transfer of funds' from Al-Qaeda to Abu Sayyaf Group leader Khadaffy Janjalani for bombings and other crimes on Mindanao, it said. He is also considered a threat to US and Filipino citizens and interests. Those with information on the location of the three suspects - who are all believed to be hiding on Mindanao - are urged to contact the nearest US embassy or consulate or any US official or military commander, it said.

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Southeast Asia

14 Abu Sayyaf in Jug for Life for kidnapping

2007-12-06

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Fourteen Muslim terrorists militants were sentenced to life in prison Thursday for the 2001 kidnapping of a U.S. missionary couple and 18 others in a yearlong jungle ordeal that prompted U.S.-backed offensives against the guerrillas. Gracia Burnham, of Wichita, Kan., survived the captivity, but her husband, Martin, was killed during a military rescue in June 2002. Guillermo Sobero of Corona, Calif., was beheaded by the rebels. Most of the top leaders of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group, which orchestrated the abductions at a resort island, have been killed in clashes since the trial opened in 2003. Philippine officials have credited the U.S. counterterrorism training that started in 2002 for many of the battlefield successes. "We commend the justice system for showing the rule of law," said Robert Courtney, the U.S. Justice Department's attache at the Manila embassy. He said he would relay the decision to Gracia Burnham. The Burnhams, missionaries for the Florida-based New Tribes Mission, were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary when they were snatched by the Abu Sayyaf at the upscale Dos Palmas resort on Palawan island in May 2001, and taken by speedboat to southern Basilan island. The rescue operation left a Filipino nurse dead, and two Filipino security guards from the resort also were beheaded by the terrorists rebels. The other hostages were released or managed to escape. Defendant Toting Hannoh, who was found guilty, struck a defiant note. Asked if this was the end of the Abu Sayyaf, he said: "No, it will become stronger." Out of 85 suspects originally charged with kidnapping, 23 were captured and tried, and 18 appeared in court. Four were acquitted Thursday. Four others were killed in a botched prison break in 2005, and one has been cleared of charges. Out of 85 suspects originally charged with kidnapping, 23 were captured and tried, and 18 appeared in court. Four were acquitted Thursday. Four others were killed in a botched prison break in 2005, and one has been cleared of charges. A year after the resort raid, the U.S. military began sending troops and instructors to train Filipino soldiers in counterterrorism. U.S.-backed offensives had dislodged the terrorists guerrillas from their bases on Basilan, but they have remained a major threat and continued to regroup. Officials estimate their number is down to about 300 terrorists guerrillas from about 1,000 in 2001. The overall leader, Khadaffy Janjalani, was killed last September in fighting on southern Jolo island. His presumed successor, Abu Sulaiman, was shot dead in a separate clash earlier this year. Dont'cha just love stories that finish with a happy ending.

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Southeast Asia

2 beheading suspects among numerous Abu Sayyaf deaders

2007-08-20

The military stepped up its retaliatory offensive yesterday by killing several Abu Sayyaf militants, including two of the suspects behind the beheading of soldiers last month.Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo said troops overran an Abu Sayyaf training camp in the mountain village of Silangkum here where bodies of several Abu Sayyaf gunmen were found. “Troops have recovered at least six body counts, including the two leaders who were among the suspects in the beheading of the Marines last month. This does not include those bodies seen littered by the clearing forces,” Cedo told a news conference here yesterday. Cedo said yesterday’s clash here involved about 80 Abu Sayyaf gunmen. He added that hundreds of troops are pursuing the rebels who survived. The bodies of slain rebels were scattered around the battle scene, he said. The two slain suspects were identified as senior Abu Sayyaf leader Furiji Indama and his brother Umair Indama, whose remains were among those recovered by troops in the rebel camp. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said the raiding troops even recovered the M-16 rifle of one of the beheaded Marines. Esperon said Furiji Indama was also a suspect in the killing of Peru-born American tourist Guillermo Sobero, one of three US citizens abducted by the Abu Sayyaf in a Palawan resort in 2001. Troops also fired 105 mm Howitzer shells early yesterday at suspected Abu Sayyaf positions near Ungkaya Pukan and the nearby townships of Sumisip and Tipo-Tipo but there was no immediate report of casualties, officials said. At least 57 soldiers and rebels were killed in the offensive, which started at dawn Saturday and raged until the early afternoon. That's a costly battle. It was the first offensive on Basilan since 14 Marines were killed, of which 10 were decapitated, in an ambush on July 10, primarily blamed on the Abu Sayyaf and renegade members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

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Southeast Asia

Abu Sayyaf field commander captured in Zamboanga Peninsula

2006-11-27

A suspected Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) commander was captured by government intelligence operatives in Colonia Village, Lamitan town, Nasilan province, sketchy reports reaching the area command and operation center of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (WestMincom) on Sunday said. A flash report received by Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, area command chief of the WestMincom from 103rd Infantry Brigade, said Annik Abbas, alias Abu Anek, one of the ASG commanders, was captured by the intelligence operatives while on his way to Sinangkalaan in Tuburan town Friday evening. The report said the unarmed ASG commander did not resist arrest when nabbed. He joined the ASG and was named one of the field commanders of Khaddafy Janjalani in 2003, the military said. The arrested suspect allegedly figured in the beheading of American hostage Guillermo Sobero in June 2001. Sobero was among the 21 persons allegedly victimized by Abbas, including American couple Martin and Gracia Burnham, who were abducted from the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan in May 2001. Martin was killed while in captivity and his wife Gracia was rescued the following year in Zamboanga Peninsula. Abbas, was initially arrested but managed to escape from his prison cell in 2004 jailbreak in Basilan, military record disclosed. Basilan Gov. Wahab Akbar offered a P1 million bounty for the capture of Abbas, it was learned. On Saturday, AFP Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. ordered field unit commanders in Southern Philippines to capture ASG chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani and his other field unit commanders and two Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) bomb specialists Dulmaten and Omar Patek, who are suspects in the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia that killed more than 200 people and wounded several others. Meanwhile, an ASG member was killed while two others were captured during a brief gunbattle with police intelligence operatives in Ayala Village, in Basilan, a police report also said.

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Southeast Asia

Philippines nabs a big catch in the War on Terror!

2006-11-25

Check out the t-shirt at the link. It happened today, the Philippine Armed Forces (AFP) got a huge catch in the War on Terror! Remember the group of hostages that was taken by the Abu Sayyaf in June of 2001? That’s the same group that included Martin and Gracia Burnham, the American Missionary couple that was held by the Abu Sayyaf. In the end, Martin was killed by his captors, while Gracia was injured, but able to return alive to the United States. At that time, another of the American Hostages, Guillermo Sobrero was beheaded by his Abu Sayyaf captors. Well, today, the AFP nabbed the very suspect that beheaded Guillermo Sobrero, a huge win in the War on Terror. If the news gets coverage in the United States, I am certain that a lot of Americans will cheer this and consider it a huge win for the Government of the Philippines. Here’s the story, as told by the Inquirer: Military intelligence agents have arrested the Abu Sayyaf leader who allegedly decapitated American hostage Guillermo Sobero in June 2001, the military said Saturday. Major Eugene Batara, spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said Annik Abbas alias Abu Anek was arrested on Friday evening in Colonia village in Lamitan, Basilan. Abbas’s victim, Sobero, was among 21 persons — including American couple Martin and Gracia Burnham — taken from the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan during a raid by the group of bandits in May 2001. Sobero’s execution was announced by Abu Sayyaf spokesperson Abu Sabaya two weeks after the abduction. “We have beheaded Sobero as a gift to the country on Independence Day,” Sabaya told a local radio station then. Sobero’s body was found about three weeks later, also in Basilan. Batara said Abbad did not resist arrest. “Abbas was on his way to Sinangkapan village in Tuburan town when he was spotted by two of our men,” Batara said. Abbas was unarmed and alone when arrested according to Batara. Basilan Governor Wahab Akbar described Abbas as “the most dangerous Abu Sayyaf.” “He was the executioner of American hostage Guillermo Sobero way back 2001,” he said. Akbar said Abbas was previously arrested but managed to escape from prison during the 2004 jail break in Basilan. He rejoined the Abu Sayyaf and was named commander of the group previously under Hamsiraji Sali, who was killed by soldiers in 2003, according to Akbar. “I am giving P1 million to the civilian informants who helped the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade in his arrest,” the Basilan governor said. On Thursday evening, police intelligence operatives also killed an Abu Sayyaf member during an operation here. Superintendent Angelito Casimiro, police intelligence chief for Western Mindanao, said his men were serving a warrant of arrest against Itting and Anni Sailani, who were being sought for the death of former Inquirer photographer Gene Boyd Lumawag, in Ayala village here. “But the serving of warrant ended in a gun fight at the Ayala bridge when the group resisted. This led to the death of Joselito Nasara alias Abu Sufian, Sofia, and Kirrs,” Casimiro said. The Sailani brothers, he said, managed to escape. During a follow up operation in Pamucutan village here, Casimiro said, policemen arrested Jayrold Nasara, younger brother of the slain Abu Sayyaf member, and another suspect, identified as Salahuddin Asikain Ogis. Police seized .45 caliber pistol, an M-16 Armalite rifle and ammunition, a motorbike, a cellular phone, a machete, and personal belongings, according to Casimiro Casimiro said the police remained on high alert following reports the Abu Sayyaf was planning to sow terror in the city. In Jolo, Sulu, Armed Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. ordered soldiers to get ranking Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Khadaffy Janjalani, and Indonesian bomb experts Dulmatin and Omar Patek before Christmas.

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Southeast Asia

Abu Bara arrested in Kumalarang

2006-05-10

They said Komoni Pael, also known by his nom de guerre, Abu Bara, was nabbed in the remote village of Kumalarang, Isabela City, on Monday after civilians reported his presence to the military. Authorities have implicated Pael in the 2001 kidnappings of more than a dozen farmers, many beheaded on the island, said Brig. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, commander of military forces in Basilan. “Pael is a notorious Abu Sayyaf member who was behind many kidnappings and killings in Basilan. There is an ongoing operation to track down other members of the terrorist group,” Ferrer said. He said Pael is also facing a string of criminal charges in Basilan. Last month, Ferrer’s group captured another Abu Sayyaf militant, Abdusalih Dimah, in Kapayawan Village, Isabela City, after weeks of surveillance by soldiers. Dimah was implicated in the 2001 kidnapping of 20 holiday-makers, including three US citizens—the Kansas missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and the Californian Guillermo Sobero—in the posh Dos Palmas resort in Palawan.

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