[EN.TEMPO.CO] Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto, said that the government is in the process of confirming reports about the number of casualties in the battle beteen the Filipino military and the Abu Sayyaf ...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... gang. Wiranto however, refused to provide further comment.
"There has been confirmation; we are still elaborating [the reports]. Before that, we will not speak," Wiranto said on Monday, August 29, 2016.
On Sunday, August 28, 2016, Filipino local media Inquirer.net reported that three Abu Sayyaf high-ranking officials were killed in a two days fire shootout in southern Philippines. Mayolargo de la Cruz, Chief of the West Mindanao Command forces said that the three victims were Mohammah Said, also known as Amah Maas; Sairul Asbang; and Abu Latip.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wrecked scow, a single surviver held tightly to the smashed prow... as many as 17 members of the Filipino armed forces were maimed in the clash that started on August 26, 2016. "The armed forces found ten bodies, including Said," Cruz said.
A splinter of the main Abu Sayyaf group led by Said was the criminal mastermind behind the abduction of three foreigners and a Filipino woman in the island of Samal on September 2015. The group was also believed to be responsible for the murder of two Canadian nationals John Ridsdel and Robert Hall.
Cruz confirmed that the military operation launched by Filipino armed forces will not threaten the lives of hostages held by the gang. "We are very careful. In addition, we have intelligence information about the location of the hostages while we make our moves," Cruz said, while adding that Said had been listed as a runaway for a long time.
Although they claimed to have killed three Abu Sayyaf brass hats, the Filipino armed forces cannot find the remaining bodies. "[The bodies] were brought by some of the group's members who managed to escape," said Col. Edgard Arevelo, Chief of Public Relation Office of the Filipino Armed Forces on Sunday, August 28, 2016.
[FREEMALAYSIATODAY] The High Court here today fixed Sept 26 for the trial of a college student in Cairo, Egypt, who is charged with supporting the al-Qaeda (Jund Al Aqsa) terrorist group by becoming its member.
Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Shariff Abu Samah set the date for the case following a request from the prosecution. The case was fixed for mention today.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Noor Syazwani Mohamad Sobry requested the court have the hearing after the Aidiladha (Hari Raya Haji) celebration on Sept 12 to ensure the presence of witnesses from outside Kuala Lumpur.
Mohamad Hidayat Azman, 19, is the first person to be prosecuted for involvement with al-Qaeda activities in the country.
Last May 12, Hidayat, a student at Markaz Salam in Hayyu Asyir, Cairo, pleaded not guilty "Wudn't me." to a charge of entering Syria to offer support to the al-Qaeda (Jund Al Aqsa) terrorist group by becoming its member.
Hidayat, from Kuala Bagan Tiang, Tanjung Piandang, Perak, was charged with committing the offence by boarding a flight from KL International Airport (KLIA) to Syria between Sept 5, 2014 and Sept 1, 2015.
He was charged under Section 130J (1)(a) of the Penal Code, punishable under Section 130J of the same law, which provides life imprisonment or jail of up to 30 years, or fine, and forfeiture of items used in committing the offence.
[Rappler] At least 12 Philippine soldiers were killed while five others were injured in a clash with the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul, Sulu.
A police report showed that two battalions conducting pursuit operations against the Abu Sayyaf Monday evening were attacked by local terrorists under the command of Abu Sayyaf leader Radullan Sahiron.
A military source said 12 soldiers were reported killed. A separate report by the police confirmed the casualties, adding that the encounter in Sitio Kan Jalul, Maligay, Patikul town continued.
Already, more than 20 Abu Sayyaf fighters have been killed since Thursday when the military launched an air-and-ground offensive in Patikul, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold, after newly-elected Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who started his six-year term on June 30, ordered troops to "destroy" the group.
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[Khaosod] A man already wanted for car bombing a mall last year was named Monday in the third arrest warrant linked to the recent series of bombings in southern Thailand earlier this month.
A military court approved the warrant for Asmeen Katemmahdi on the same charges of possessing explosives and attempted arson as Ruslan Baima, the second suspect named earlier. Both men are accused of being behind the four Hua Hin blasts on August 11 and 12, which killed two people and wounded dozens more.
Asmeen is also suspected in a car bombing in April 2015 in the underground parking lot of the Central Festival Samui shopping mall. At the time, authorities considered the possibility that the explosion, which injured seven people including tourists, might have connected to the southern separatist movement.
Senior police investigator Srivara Ransibrahmanakul on Monday said Asmeen is a trained militant with a background in such attacks.
Asmeen and Ruslan were among three men identified as suspects in the Hua Hin bombings in sketches released Wednesday. Police are trying to confirm the identity of the third suspect. All three remain at large.
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
