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| Southeast Asia |
| Philippine Military Says Captures Abu Sayyaf Leader |
| 2003-01-02 |
| The Philippine military said on Thursday it had captured a leader of the Abu Sayyaf, a gang of Muslim radicals linked by the United States to the al Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden. Merang Abante, a middle-ranking leader of the Abu Sayyaf carrying a $18,500 bounty on his head, was apprehended near the southern city of Zamboanga, Armed Forces Southern Command Chief Leutenant General Narciso Abaya told reporters. Somebody's going to be buying the beer "Our intelligence unit is trying to establish what was his mission and to determine his possible participation in the spate of bombings in October and his possible participation in the kidnappings in Basilan or Jolo," Abaya said. Truncheon alert The Abu Sayyaf, which claims to be fighting for a separate Islamic state in the south of this predominantly Catholic country but is mainly notorious for kidnappings, has bases on the islands of Basilan and Jolo. The group is still holding three Indonesian seamen abducted in June from a Singaporean-owned tugboat off Jolo, and four woman evangelists kidnapped in August. They've still got the Avon ladies? |
| Posted by:Steve |