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ZAMBOANGA CITY: Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants have
put up roadblocks in Sulu and were extorting illegal taxation from
Muslim villagers.
The militants, mostly members of
an Abu Sayyaf faction from Basilan province, were spotted in the
town of Patikul where they reportedly attempted to kidnap local
construction workers, said military intelligence reports. It was
unclear how the said attempt happened, but another report said one
Muslim engineer, Jumlail Esmael, was almost abducted after he was
stopped at a checkpoint. The engineer, however, managed to negotiate
that he be allowed to go. It was not immediately known whether the
arrangement involved his having to shell out an amount of money,
which was most likely.
The report said that some 100
gunmen had split into several groups near the village of Taung and
were collecting so-called revolutionary taxes. One report said the
Abu Sayyaf is also holding in the town of Indanan a Muslim teacher
it kidnapped in Tawi-Tawi province on January 15.
It was unknown whether the
hostage was Omar Taup, a Notre Dame teacher kidnapped in the village
of Likud Tabawan in Tawi-Tawi’s South Ubian town. The Abu Sayyaf
killed a Catholic priest, Jesus Reynaldo Roda, during the
kidnapping. The priest was buried on Wednesday (See related story).
Last week, suspected Abu Sayyaf
also kidnapped a junk shop worker and was only freed after his
employer paid about P200,000 in ransom.
The latest military intelligence
reports came just days after the military ordered the pullout of all
Army troops and redeployed them in the province of Lanao del Norte
as part of a new strategy in combating terrorism.
The Philippine Marines have taken
over the functions of the Army in anti-insurgency operations in Sulu,
although the Abu Sayyaf and Moro National Liberation Front rebels in
fierce clashes have killed dozens of Marines since last year.
Villagers were worried that the
redeployment of Army troops would trigger the return of the Abu
Sayyaf to Sulu province, where security forces are pursuing several
Jemaah Islamiah bombers, including Indonesian militant Dulmatin and
Umar Patek, blamed for several bombings in the province. Jakarta
tagged both men as behind the deadly 2001 Bali bombings that killed
202 people, including 88 Australians.
--Al Jacinto
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