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Mujib Susukan

Mujib Susukan

Abu Sayyaf

Southeast Asia

20030219

Southeast Asia

Drilon says Commander Brain Damage not her kidnapper

2008-07-25

ABS-CBN News senior correspondent Ces Drilon said Wednesday night that the suspect arrested by the military in Talipao, Sulu on Tuesday is not part of the group of Abu Sayyaf members who kidnapped her, two network cameramen and a peace advocate in the province last month. "The commander 'Brain Damage' is not the one we know who was part of the group that kidnapped us," Drilon said in a statement, adding that the military sent her a picture of the suspect via multi-media message on mobile phone. Police, meanwhile, said that Drilon and cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama will still be asked to identify suspects caught by authorities in Sulu when they are turned over to officials in Manila. On Tuesday, a man named Munhamer Sattari, alias "Brain Damage," and is said to be a member of the Talipao town-based Abu Sayyaf Group under the late Commander Mujib Susukan, was apprehended by members of the Marine MBLT-4 in Barangay Kandang. Amilbahar Amilasan, presidential assistant on the peace process, said Sattari has a pending arrest warrant for four counts of frustrated murder. Amilasan said the suspect has been brought to the 3rd Marine Brigade headquarters. Col. Eugenio Clemen of the 3rd Brigade, however, was unable to confirm the report. He said he was in Zamboanga City Wednesday. On July 18, two other suspected kidnappers of Drilon, her crew and peace advocate Octavio Dinampo were arrested at a Marine checkpoint in Patikul town.

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Southeast Asia

Bandits massing up in Sulu

2004-01-29

A military intelligence report revealed that Abu Sayyaf bandits have been massing up in Sulu in preparation for another wave of terrorist activities in Mindanao. Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamko, chief of the Armed Forces Southern Command, also disclosed that reports that the Abu Sayyaf bandits are now on a recruitment binge are also being verified. Need some replacement cannon fodder, do you? Kyamko said he also ordered all units under Southcom to continue operations against the Abu Sayyaf. Kyamko believes that the reports on the alleged massing of the bandits is just part of the Abu Sayyaf propaganda. So, are they massing or are they just saying they are massing? Or maybe, they are saying they are massing to prevent you from knowing that they are massing. He assured that soldiers are ready to finish the bandits off at any opportune time. Today would be good. On the other hand, the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade commander, Col. Alexander Yapching, said the troops will not lower their guard against domestic terrorists, while search and destroy operations continue. I’m not sure if that made any sense. Among the bandit bands being monitored closely include the one headed by Radulan Sahiron, which has been blamed for a series of kidnappings. At the same time, the military is verifying reports that the brother of the late Abu Sayyaf leader Mujib Susukan died in a recent clash with government forces in Sulu. Almujahib Susukan, head of an Abu Sayyaf sub unit, was earlier sighted in Maimbung, Sulu, Kyamko said. Based on accounts from civilians in the area Susukan was hit in different parts of the body that caused his instant death, Kyamko said. Multiple wounds tend to do that. The civilian informants also claimed that Susukan’s safe house was wrecked when it was hit by a mortar shell. If he was inside, that could account for the multiple wounds. He would not confirm the report however, saying the soldiers are still validating the report. Haven’t found a body.

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Southeast Asia

Abu Sayyaf commander killed in Jolo

2004-01-27

Philippine troops have killed a commander of the Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebel group in an operation on a southern island, a military spokesman said Monday. Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Lucero said Almujahid Susukan was killed last Friday when troops shelled an Abu Sayyaf encampment in Maimbung town on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila. Lucero said the shelling was conducted after villagers tipped off the military about the existence of an Abu Sayyaf lair in the area. Almujahid Susukan was an elder brother of key Abu Sayyaf leader Mujib Susukan, who was killed last year in a clash with government troops on Jolo.

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Southeast Asia

Robot sez he shared the 2000 loot

2003-12-10

Ghalib Andang, the high profile leader of the hostage-taking Abu Sayyaf Group who was arrested on Sunday, claimed that he shared the $21 million ransom payment he received in 2000 with 10 mediators, including a military general. String him up... Andang said he received only a "measly P10 million" ($181,818) in ransom, out of which he gave P1 million ($18,181) each to his first and second wife, P2 million ($36,363) to his third wife, P4 million ($72,727) to Abu Sayyaf leader Mujib Susukan. Wifey number 3 is the double-jointed 13-year-old... The Malaysian government and representatives of Libyan President Muammar Kaddafi had paid $1million for each of the hostages, or a total of $21 million. In a letter he sent to Oliver Lozano a week before his capture, Andang, who is the 20th Abu Sayyaf bandit to be arrested for kidnappings in Sipadan, said that majority of the money was taken by a government negotiator. Sources alleged that Andang was referring to Robert Aventajado, the negotiator assigned by President Joseph Estrada, to negotiate the release of 21 mostly foreign hostages who were abducted from a resort in Sipadan, Malaysia in 2000. I hope somebody's hitting Robert very hard, very many times, even as we speak blog. But they probably aren't... Three German nationals who had been taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf in 2000, had told German newspaper Der Spiegel, at the time that part of the ransom went to the government’s chief negotiator. Aventajado’s conversation with Andang was recorded by a high technology communications system. Later, Aventajado repeatedly denied the accusations that he allegedly received more than 50 per cent of the ransom payment. If we're lucky, someone in the Philippine government will deny nailing Robert's scrotum to the top of a very tall tree, with him dangling from it. But we probably won't be lucky. No doubt he's suffered enough, what with the loss of reputation and all... In the same letter, Andang said that the ransom money also went to local officials, businessmen, a legislator, a diplomat, a Muslim general, and a leader of the mainstream Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a group that had forged a peace settlement with the government in 1996. Each of the beneficiaries received commissions of four to five per cent of the total ransom payment, Andang said. Sources said this would amount to $1.155 million each. In his letter, Andang identified the people who benefited from the ransom payment which was earlier believed to have been given solely to the hostage-taking group. Andang will reveal the names of government officials who benefited from the multi-million-peso ransom that was paid to the Abu Sayyaf, said Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero, Armed Forces public information chief. "That’s one of the concerns we are going to look into during the tactical interrogation of Andang," Lucero said, adding that authorities will also find out those who supported the Abu Sayyaf during the past years. My guess would be either MILF or the Magic Kingdom, though it’s probably both ... The Magic Kingdom owns MILF, MILF owns Abu Sayyaf. Surprisingly enough, it's all about o-o-o-i-i-l... Oh. You're not surprised? Don't curl your lip that way. It's gonna stay that way one of these days. These are the Just Demands™ of the Moro people, claiming their historical birthright. They need that money to... ummm... fund madrassahs. And for charities. One of Andang’s wives and a female negotiator arranged a meeting between Lozano and Andang in Jolo, in Mindanao in July 2002. But leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and government officials prevented Andang from giving up. I imagine Commander Robot's life insurance underwriter is on some heavy duty medication at this moment...

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Southeast Asia

Top Abu Sayyaf Leader Dies From Battle

2003-02-19

A top commander of the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf reportedly died Wednesday from wounds suffered during a government assault on his hideout a day earlier, a military commander said. Mujib Susukan, whose capture or death carried a $92,500 bounty, was shot under the right armpit and in the right leg in a clash outside Talipao town on Jolo island Tuesday, Jolo army commander Col. Alexander Aleo said. Susukan was the leader of one of several Abu Sayyaf factions operating the Philippines. He said other guerrillas and villagers carried Susukan into the jungle. Intelligence sources and villagers reported he died Wednesday and was buried in a shallow grave in the village of Bandang in Talipao. Aleo ordered a search for the body. Dig him up, check the ID, and drive a stake through his heart. These guys tend to come back from the dead otherwise. Four Abu Sayyaf gunmen and one soldier also were killed in Tuesday's fighting between government troops and about 50 guerrillas, Aleo said. On Wednesday, seven guerrillas and three soldiers were killed and seven soldiers wounded in fierce fighting between government troops and 70 gunmen in the jungle outside Patikul town near Talipao, raising the death toll in two days of fighting to 15. Susukan was one of the leaders of an Abu Sayyaf band that raided the Malaysian resort of Sipadan in April 2000, seizing 21 people, including Western tourists. The guerrillas brought the hostages to Jolo and released all but one Filipino resort worker in exchange for millions of dollars in ransom reportedly paid by Libya. Last year, U.S. troops trained Filipino soldiers in a six-month counterterrorism exercise designed to crush the Abu Sayyaf operating on neighboring Basilan island, near Zamboanga. The exercise was credited with the capture and killing of key Abu Sayyaf members and leaders. Sounds like that training is paying off. The government announced a similar exercise will be held this year on Jolo, where many Basilan-based Abu Sayyaf guerrillas have sought refuge. The guerrillas on Jolo, 590 miles south of Manila, are holding three Indonesian sailors and four women from the Christian sect Jehovah's Witnesses seized last year. They still have those Jehovah's Withesses/Avon ladies. Look for anybody wearing eyeliner and nail polish.

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Terror Networks

MNLF coordinating with Abu Sayyaf

2002-01-15

The Abu Sayyaf and armed followers of MNLF leader Nur Misuari are fortifying their forces in preparation for launching attacks in Western Mindanao. The leader of the Misuari forces, Papa Jalaide, has been meeting with Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Inundail since Jan. 8 in Sulu. Jalaide, together with several leaders of Abu Sayyaf including Ghalib Andang alias "Commander Robot" and Mujib Susukan, were among those charged for rebellion along with Misuari for leading the attack on an Army headquarters in Sulu in November. More than 100 people, mostly Misuari loyalists, were killed in the attack. A formidable enemy, indeed. I've often thought of naming myself "Commander Robot." It has such a romantic ring.

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