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| Southeast Asia |
| Abu Sayyaf Executes Vietnamese Boat Captain |
| 2017-12-12 |
| [BENARNEWS.ORG] 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... kidnapers executed a Vietnamese hostage after holding him captive for more than a year in the southern Philippines, the military said Monday. The body of Pham Minh Tuan, the captain of the M/V Royal 16 vessel who was taken hostage along with five crew members by Abu Sayyaf hard boyz in November 2016, was recovered in a coastal village on Jolo island at the weekend, military officials said. "Tuan’s remains were airlifted to Manila and turned over to the Vietnamese Embassy," said Chief Superintendent Graciano Mijares, head of the regional police. M/V Royal 16 was carrying cement from northeastern Vietnam to the Philippines when it was attacked off the island of Basilan ...Basilan is a rugged, jungle-covered island in the southern Philippines. It is a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, bandidos, and maybe even orcs. Most people with any sense travel with armed escorts... in the south. The boat had 19 crew members aboard, according to the Vietnamese embassy in the Philippines, but the attackers took six, including the captain, as hostages and let the rest go. Tuan and his five crewmen apparently were taken to the jungles of Jolo island farther south, military officials said. One of the five escaped in June, while two had their heads chopped off a month later. Mijares said the button men initially thought the boat captain could be ransomed for a big amount, but they were mistaken. He did not elaborate. Last month, troops rescued four Vietnamese hostages from the Abu Sayyaf but found a fifth dead. This group was taken from another ship button men boarded in February. At least six foreigners are believed to be held captive by Abu Sayyaf, officials said. The bandidos last year had beheaded two Canadians and a German national held separately, after ransom payments demanded by the captors were not met. |
| Posted by:Fred |