US military says Vagni closely guarded by kidnappers

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Italian Red Cross worker Eugenio Vagni is being closely guarded by the Abu Sayyaf in an undisclosed place in Sulu, a US military officer helping in the rescue attempt revealed yesterday.

Col. William Coultrup, commander of the US Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P), said the bandit group holding Vagni has successfully hidden the Italian.

“They (Abu Sayyaf) are doing a good job in maintaining the secrecy around him. It’s difficult to pinpoint and they’re hiding him very well,” Coultrup said.

Coultrup explained the presence of the US military in the search and rescue effort for Vagni was part of their role of providing intelligence assistance and training to Filipino troops under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

Coultrup, however, admitted Filipino troops under Anti-Terror Task Force Comet commander Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban are in a better position to know where Vagni is being held.

He said the role of the US military in the search is limited to providing intelligence and training.

“It has to be that, it is very much what the (Philippine) Constitution and the VFA have laid out (as our role),” he said.

Vagni was one of three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) workers kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf on Jan. 15.

The Italian has been held hostage for 155 days while his two colleagues, Swiss national Andreas Notter and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba, gained their freedom in April.

There had been several skirmishes between the military and the Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the effort to rescue Vagni that left 23 people killed on both sides – eight soldiers and 15 bandits.

A source in the military also revealed the Abu Sayyaf is directly making contact with Vagni’s family in Italy for ransom.

“The talks are taking place between the Abu Sayyaf and Vagni’s family,” a ranking military official revealed.

The official claimed intercepting the telephone conversations through satellite and intelligence gathering equipment of US military forces.

The same official revealed Vagni is being held captive by a group led by Abu Pula.

“They have been highly mobile. They keep on moving from one place to another,” the official said.

Coultrup noted the untiring effort of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to rescue Vagni despite the losses.

“The good news is I don’t see the Armed Forces backing out, I don’t see laying down the engineering projects, they are still continuing and that’s the way it should be,” Coultrup said. – With Edith Regalado