Sayyaf Indon hostage dies, compatriot rescued by Filipino troops

ZAMBOANGA CITY – An Indonesian hostage by the pro-ISIS group Abu Sayyaf had died while his compatriot was rescued by Filipino soldiers during a firefight with militants on Simisa Island, about 30 nautical miles from the southern province of Sulu, officials said Saturday.

Officials said the 45-year Hariadin drowned while escaping from the fighting and his companion Heri Ardiansyah, 19, was recovered by soldiers. The duo along with Malaysian fisherman Jari Abdullah, 24, were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf in December off Sabah and brought them to the forested island where security forces had been pursuing them since last month.

Abdullah was also recovered by soldiers on April 4 on the island following a firefight between security forces and militants.

“Troops from the Philippine Marine Ready Fleet Sulu rescued Indonesian captives Heri Ardiansyah and Hariadin after engaging three Abu Sayyaf militants under Najir Arik. Hariadin, however, died due to drowning.”

“The Joint Task Force Sulu said the engaged militants and the captives tried to swim across the channel towards Bangalao Island to escape from the pursuing troops when they were spotted by the roving sea patrols,” the Western Mindanao Command said.

It said 3 militants were killed by soldiers in the fighting and recovered their bodies and four automatic rifles and a grenade launcher. “The 10-minute gun battle further resulted in the deaths of three Abu Sayyaf militants and the seizure of several high-powered firearms, including two M14 rifles, two M16 rifles, and an M203 Grenade Launcher,” the military said.

The rescued Indonesian fisherman and the body of Hariadin were brought to the Western Mindanao Command headquarters in Zamboanga City. Security forces continue with the hunt for militants under Najir Arik on Simisa, according to Lt. Gen. Arnel Dela Vega, the regional military commander. “Marine troops constrict Abu Sayyaf’s movement with the all-out offensives launched to pound terrorists on the island,” he said.

While the hunt for militants continue on the island, fierce fighting on Sulu’s Patikul town had killed 3 soldiers and wounded over a dozen more on Friday after the army clashed with at least 50 militants led by Hajan Sawadjaan.

The operation is still on going in the town’s hinterlands where the Abu Sayyaf fighters broke into smaller groups. The town is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf. (Mindanao Examiner and The Zamboanga Post)

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Abu Sayyaf and Philippine troops clashed, Malaysian hostage shot

SULU – A Malaysian hostage by the Abu Sayyaf was shot and wounded following a firefight between pro-ISIS militants and Filipino soldiers on Simisa Island off the southern province of Sulu.

Soldiers recovered the 24-year old Jari bin Abdullah on Simisa Island where security forces had engaged Abu Sayyaf fighters under Najir Arik in sporadic clashes since last month.

 

A Philippine military photo shows Malaysian national Jari bin Abdullah who was shot on April 4, 2019 following a clash between Abu Sayyaf and security forces on Simisa Island off Sulu province in southern Philippines.

Abdullah was recovered on Thursday afternoon, but the Western Mindanao Command only reported this the next day. In a conflicting report, it claimed Abdullah was retrieved by Marines who were pursuing the Abu Sayyaf gunmen, but the military also said that the hostage was shot by his captors while escaping. It was unclear whether soldiers saw the militants shooting Abdullah.

“Troops from the Philippine Marine Ready Force Sulu retrieved Jari Bin Abdullah near the Abu Sayyaf’s route of withdrawal, fifteen minutes after troops engaged the militants under Najir Arik on Simisa Island,” the Western Mindanao Command said in a statement.

And added: “The Joint Task Force Sulu, under Brigadier General Divino Rey Pabayo, Jr., said Abdullah managed to escape, but he was shot by his captors before he was secured by the troops.”
It also quoted Pabayo as saying: “The act of shooting the kidnap victim is indicative of the Abu Sayyaf’s hopelessness and desperateness as the militants are now surrounded by our pursuing troops.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines in Sulu is now more motivated to hunt down these terrorists.”
The military said Abdullah was airlifted by a helicopter to a military hospital in the capital town of Jolo on the mainland of Sulu.

Lt. Gen. Arnel Dela Vega, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said the Abu Sayyaf is still holding several hostages on the forested island and that soldiers were deployed in Simisa to rescue the captives. “Marine troops continue their pursuit and offensives to run down militants and rescue captives on the island. Troops maximize combat and intelligence build-up to track down and close in on evading terrorists, delivering deliberate operations to ensure the safety of kidnap victims on Simisa Island,” he said.

The Abu Sayyaf has previously threatened to execute Abdullah along with two other Indonesian fishermen Heri Ardiansyah, 19, and Hariadin, 45, if their governments or employer fail to pay ransoms running into millions of pesos.

The captors also phoned Abdullah’s wife, Nadin Junianti, in February telling her that no Malaysian authorities or negotiators have contacted them to secure her husband’s release.

The gunmen said that her husband would face difficulties if there was no contact from Malaysia. They also asked her for telephone contacts of Malaysian journalists. The woman has repeatedly appealed to Malaysian authorities to help secure her husband’s release. She said it was the second time the kidnap group had contacted her.

The militants are believed to be holding nearly a dozen captives, mostly foreigners. Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah said authorities were working with their Philippine counterparts to secure the release of the hostages who were kidnapped at sea off Sandakan in Sabah on December 5, 2018. (The Zamboanga Post)

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Troops clashed with Sayyafs in South

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Government troops clashed with Abu Sayyaf militants on the southern Philippine island of Simisa where security forces are hunting the pro-ISIS terror group, officials said Monday.

Citing intelligence report, officials claimed that 3 militants were killed in Sunday and Monday’s clashes, but soldiers failed to recover bodies of the slain gunmen. No soldiers were reported wounded or killed in the fighting on Simisa Island.

Marines were tracking down the group of Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Najir Arik on the remote island when it ran into a band of militants, sparking gun battles in two sites.

“The exchange of fires that lasted for 5 minutes resulted to three enemies killed based on human intelligence, while no casualty was reported on the government side. Pursuit operation was immediately conducted to go after the fleeing bandits.”

“While conducting pursuit operation at 8:02 am today, troops of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 1 chanced upon the fleeing bandits few meters away from the first encounter site. Intermittent firefight lasted for about twenty minutes,” said Lieutenant General Arnel Dela Vega, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, adding, the anti-terror Joint Task Force Sulu continues to intensify the conduct of offensives against the Abu Sayyaf, whose leaders have pledged allegiance to ISIS.

The Abu Sayyaf is still holding nearly dozen mostly Malaysian and Indonesian fishermen kidnapped for ransom off Sabah and has recently threatened to executive 3 captives if ransoms running into tens of millions of pesos are not paid by Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur. No deadline has been set for the execution of 2 Indonesians and a Malaysian fisherman. (Mindanao Examiner)

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