7 Pentagon men captured

ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR - Seven suspected members of the Pentagon gang that kidnapped Italian priest Giuseppe Pierantoni last year have been captured, three of them after a brief gunbattle in Dumalinao town here last Friday, authorities said.

Three of the seven suspected Pentagon men, said to be followers of Nurhan Amil, popularly known as Commander Ramji, were captured by soldiers after Dumalinao residents tipped off the authorities about their presence. However, three of their cohorts escaped during a brief gunbattle.

Commander Ramji’s group is believed to be holding Pierantoni, who was abducted in Dimataling town, also in this province, last Oct. 17.

Three handguns, two motorcycles, three mobile phones and extortion letters were recovered from the three captives, local military official Col. Jet Velarmino said.

The four other suspected Pentagon members were arrested in separate raids in Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato the other day.

Orlando Santos, a Visayan, and his Maranaw cohort, Heider Panawidan, were on their way to a clandestine meeting with drug dealers in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat when police cornered them.

The two, police said, had long been wanted for kidnappings and drug trafficking.

Earlier, police arrested Bayang Mudin Bayam and Kalih Salimulah in a raid on a Pentagon safehouse in Kabacan, North Cotabato. Both have been linked to past abductions in the province.

They yielded a 9 mm. Ingram machine pistol, dozens of bullets for assault rifles, communications equipment, drug repacking paraphernalia and a list of contacts in the province.

Authorities said they hope the capture of Ramji’s three men will yield clues leading to the recovery of Pierantoni.

In the past, officials have said that Pierantoni was being held by the so-called Pentagon gang of former Muslim guerrillas who have turned to kidnapping.

However, the extortion letters captured from the three men indicate they came from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country’s largest Muslim separatist rebel group which has signed a ceasefire with the government and is negotiating for peace.

Military sources have previously charged that the MILF is covertly engaged in kidnapping for ransom, using other groups to get around the ceasefire. They also charge that Commander Ramji is an active member of the MILF

However, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu has denied they are involved in kidnapping and said they have even tried to negotiate for the release of Pierantoni. — AFP, John Unson ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR - Seven suspected members of the Pentagon gang that kidnapped Italian priest Giuseppe Pierantoni last year have been captured, three of them after a brief gunbattle in Dumalinao town here last Friday, authorities said.

Three of the seven suspected Pentagon men, said to be followers of Nurhan Amil, popularly known as Commander Ramji, were captured by soldiers after Dumalinao residents tipped off the authorities about their presence. However, three of their cohorts escaped during a brief gunbattle.

Commander Ramji’s group is believed to be holding Pierantoni, who was abducted in Dimataling town, also in this province, last Oct. 17.

Three handguns, two motorcycles, three mobile phones and extortion letters were recovered from the three captives, local military official Col. Jet Velarmino said.

The four other suspected Pentagon members were arrested in separate raids in Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato the other day.

Orlando Santos, a Visayan, and his Maranaw cohort, Heider Panawidan, were on their way to a clandestine meeting with drug dealers in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat when police cornered them.

The two, police said, had long been wanted for kidnappings and drug trafficking.

Earlier, police arrested Bayang Mudin Bayam and Kalih Salimulah in a raid on a Pentagon safehouse in Kabacan, North Cotabato. Both have been linked to past abductions in the province.

They yielded a 9 mm. Ingram machine pistol, dozens of bullets for assault rifles, communications equipment, drug repacking paraphernalia and a list of contacts in the province.

Authorities said they hope the capture of Ramji’s three men will yield clues leading to the recovery of Pierantoni.

In the past, officials have said that Pierantoni was being held by the so-called Pentagon gang of former Muslim guerrillas who have turned to kidnapping.

However, the extortion letters captured from the three men indicate they came from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country’s largest Muslim separatist rebel group which has signed a ceasefire with the government and is negotiating for peace.

Military sources have previously charged that the MILF is covertly engaged in kidnapping for ransom, using other groups to get around the ceasefire. They also charge that Commander Ramji is an active member of the MILF

However, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu has denied they are involved in kidnapping and said they have even tried to negotiate for the release of Pierantoni. — AFP, John Unson