SULU – Three Indonesian fishing crew members were reported kidnapped by Abu
Sayyaf gunmen off Sabah near the Philippine border and had been taken to the
southern Filipino province of Sulu, Malaysia media said Sunday.
It
said the trio was working for a fishing company in Sandakan and had been seized
by 7 gunmen on the night of December 5 near Pegasus Reef – an area where four
armed men also attacked a tugboat and wounded an Indonesian crew two days later
in a failed abduction.
Sabah
police recovered the trawler of the missing Indonesian crewmen with its engine
still running. “They were abducted on Wednesday. One of the victims apparently
made contact with a family member late Thursday night. The sources also
disclosed that the family member was urged to seek the assistance of the
Indonesian consulate,” the Star reported.
It
said, citing intelligence sources, that the gunmen were led by Abu Sayyaf
commanders Al Mujir Yadah and Hajan Sawadjaan, who teamed up with another militant
commander, Indang Susukan. The group was tagged as behind the spate of ransom
kidnappings in the waters of Sabah and the recent attack on tugboat off Pegasus
Reef.
The
names of the abducted Indonesians were not made public by the Star Online, but
said their ages are between 19 and 40.
The
Star Online, quoting unidentified intelligence sources, said three fishermen
had been taken by their abductors to Pata Island and later transferred them to
Panamao town.
Panamao
is near Luuk town where Abu Sayyaf had freed their Indonesian hostages several
times in the past. Just December 6, the militants freed the 35-year old Usman
Yusuf in Luuk’s Bual village.
Yusuf was quickly
brought to a military base in the capital town of Jolo after soldiers recovered
him in Bual village. He was kidnapped along with another Indonesian man Samsul
Saguni, 40, in September 11 off Gaya Island in Sabah’s Semporna town and brought to Sulu, one of 5 provinces
under the Muslim autonomous region. Saguni’s fate remains unknown.
The release of Yusuf came after the Chief of the Indonesian Consul-General’s Office in Sabah, Sulistijo
Djati Ismojo, appealed to Malaysia to resolve the kidnapping of its citizens.
It was
unknown whether ransom had been paid to the kidnappers in exchange for Yusuf’s
release. But in September, the Abu Sayyaf had previously released other
kidnapped Indonesian hostages to Nur Misuari, chieftain of the former rebel
group Moro National Liberation Front, and his wife Tarhata; and a former Indonesian
army general Kivlan Zein who was believed to have negotiated for the victims’
freedom.
In September
14 this year, the militant group, whose leaders pledged allegiance to the
Islamic State, also released to Misuari 3 other Indonesian hostages Hamdam Salim, Subandi Sattuh and Sudarlan
Samansung, who were kidnapped at sea off Sabah in January.
In August 2016, civilians recovered 2 of seven Indonesian sailors Ismail
and Mohamad Soyfan in the same village of Bual. The duo was part of a crew of
tugboat Charles kidnapped in June of the same year after militants on
speedboats intercepted the vessel while heading to
Samarinda in East Kalimantan following a trip from the Philippines.
The remaining
hostages - Ferry Arifin, the skipper; M. Mahbrur Dahri, Edi Suryono,
M.Nasir, and Robin Piter were eventually freed by the Abu Sayyaf to Misuari on
October 2, 2016.
There was no immediate reports from the Philippine military on the
latest abductions. But it recently said that the Abu Sayyaf is still holding at
least three more foreigners and three Filipinos in southern Philippines. (Mindanao
Examiner)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MindanaoExamine
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