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| Southeast Asia |
| Abus demand P30 million ransom for Indonesian hostages |
| 2019-11-23 |
| [PhilStar] Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants have reportedly demanded more than P30 million in exchange for the release of three Indonesian fishermen seized in the waters off Sabah last September. The military said it received the information from villagers shortly after a video posted on Facebook showed the captives appealing to their employer and the Indonesian government to heed the demand of the kidnappers. A Malaysian newspaper report said that before the posting of the video, the kidnappers contacted a family member of one of the hostages and demanded ransom. Western Mindanao Command spokesman Arvin John Encinas said ground forces and intelligence units have yet to confirm reports that Abu Sayyaf rebels were behind the kidnapping. Maharudin Lunani, his son Muhammad Farhan, and Samiun Maneu were in a fishing trawler when they were captured off the coast of Tambisan. The victims were reportedly brought by their captors to Sulu. Malaysian authorities have said that lawless groups behind recent kidnappings of fishermen and crewmembers of foreign fishing boats off the coast of Sabah could have ties with the Abu Sayyaf. Aside from search and rescue operations for the Indonesian fishermen, the military is also looking for a couple snatched from a resort in Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur last month. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #1 That's like $ 200,000 for one Indonesian fisherman. "Look, guys err... why don't you just keep the day's catch and let 'em go ?" |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2019-11-23 01:45 |