Sayyaf strikes again, seizes six hostages

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits struck again on Tuesday, seizing eight Filipinos, most of them dealers of an American cosmetics company, in Patikul town in Sulu, police and military officials reported yesterday.

Authorities said five of the hostages were women while three were men and, except for a husband and wife who served as guides, were local dealers of the New York-based Avon Products Inc., the world’s largest direct seller of beauty products with thousands of sales personnel in the Philippines.

Sulu police director Superintendent Ahiron Ajirim said two of the victims were eventually freed but the six others were brought to the dense forest near Barangay Darayan in Patikul.

The abduction was the first in Sulu since the conclusion of the joint RP-US "Balikatan 02-1" exercise on nearby Basilan island, which aimed to help the Armed Forces contain the terrorist activities of the Abu Sayyaf, linked by Washington to the al-Qaeda terror network.

It was also the first Abu Sayyaf kidnapping since the terrorist group seized three Indonesian crewmen from the oil tanker M/T Sentile Marine 88 on June 17.

Ajirim said the eight sales personnel, five women and three men, were in a Ford Tamaraw van with license plates JBG-387 when they picked up two hitchhikers along the road from Taglibi to Jolo before noon on Tuesday.

Upon reaching Sitio Parang-Parang in Barangay Darayan, the two men pulled out handguns and forced the driver to stop the jeepney.

They released two of the men, including the driver Yahya Hamsi, who reported the incident to the Patikul police yesterday.

Hamsi later identified one of the two men as Muin Maulod Sahiron, a nephew of one-armed bandit Radulan Sahiron, Ajirim said.

Sahiron is one of the four top Abu Sayyaf leaders on whose head the United States offered a $5-million reward for their involvement in a year-long kidnapping spree that victimized more than a hundred people, including at least four Americans.

Ajirim said six of the victims were from Zamboanga City but were staying at a local inn and selling Avon products on Sulu island.

Two women in their 40s and a 21-year-old man registered at the inn under the same last name and are likely related, Ajirim said.

Two other victims were identified as Nidzmalin Sulayman and her husband Boyet, both from Patikul, and were acting as guides for the Avon dealers, Ajirimi said.

Police found Avon cosmetics scattered around the kidnapping scene which was tagged as among the lairs of the Abu Sayyaf in the island, but the authorities refused to rule out the possibility that the Avon dealers were abducted by other groups.

"We have yet to confirm the motives and the group, but Patikul is an Abu Sayyaf area, and they may be responsible," Ajirim said.

Human shields

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said the Army had been hunting Abu Sayyaf terrorists in the area and the Avon dealers would likely be used as human shields.

"If they are Abu Sayyaf, it is possible the hostages will be used as human shields. These sellers are not really known to have money," Golez said.

Patikul Vice Mayor Esmon Suhir said the Army shelled suspected Abu Sayyaf hideouts around Patikul Tuesday night. Residents heard at least 10 ground-shaking artillery blasts. The fighting was the first in the war-stricken area in months.

Suhir called on the Abu Sayyaf to release the hostages immediately. He said the islanders were in the middle of a major harvest and renewed fighting could disrupt the relative prosperity the area has enjoyed this year.

The military has been conducting pursuit operations against the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu soon after government and US troops concluded joint exercises in Basilan that degraded the group’s strength and capability.

A joint Philippine-American team also pinned down bandit leader Aldam Tilao, alias Abu Sabaya, on June 21 as he was fleeing Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte to join his cohorts in Sulu. Sabaya was killed in the encounter while four of his men were captured.

Aside from Sahiron, the military are also tracking down other Abu Sayyaf leaders Sahiron Hapilon in Basilan as well as Ghalib Andang, Mujib Susukan and Abu Jumdail in Sulu.

The military is also searching for Abu Sayyaf overall chieftain Khadafi Janjalani.

However, the Abu Sayyaf based in Basilan are believed to have temporarily fled the island and regrouped with other factions of the group in Sulu.

Among other areas under tight watch are Siocon and Sibuco towns in Zamboanga del Norte, Ipil in Zamboanga del Sur and the barangays of Vitali and Bongiao in Zamboanga City — all areas where the bandits are known to operate.

Meanwhile, Sen. Noli de Castro expressed dismay at the Abu Sayyaf’s continuing operation although the military claims they had already degraded the group’s capability after joint exercises with the Americans.

"The remaining Abu Sayyaf should be pursued immediately to save the helpless victims. The government’s no-ransom policy should also be strictly enforced," De Castro said in a statement.

"Unless we would like to be again at the mercy of the Abu Sayyaf, something must be done to send a strong message to these rebels that the military is really bent on wiping out the Abu Sayyaf," he added.

Lamitan issue not settled yet

In a related development, Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes said the AFP has not yet formally cleared the three senior officers being accused of colluding with the terrorists during the controversial Lamitan siege last year.

In a press briefing, Reyes stressed, however, that although Maj. Gen. Romeo Dominguez, Col. Juvenal Narcise and Maj. Eliseo Campued have not been cleared, there never was nor will there ever be any connivance between the military and the terrorist group.

"No, they were not cleared," Reyes said, admitting that there were operational lapses that emerged during a Senate investigation on the incident.

"I would be the first to admit that there perhaps were operational lapses but I deny, as I denied during the Senate inquiry, that there was collusion," he added.

The defense chief’s statement contradicted the remark of Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Eduardo Purificacion that the three officers were cleared of any collusion during the Lamitan siege.

Reyes clarified, however, that the DND has not yet received a copy of the formal report of the Senate inquiry but assured the military would take immediate and appropriate action on the Senate’s recommendation.

"We were informed unofficially that we only have a draft but the Armed Forces will do whatever is necessary and appropriate after we have received the report from the Senate and the House regarding the Lamitan incident," he said. - With reports from Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez, AFP