ASG member in Lamitan siege falls

From the Philippine Star (Nov 15): ASG member in Lamitan siege falls

Intelligence and security forces captured an Abu Sayyaf member, tagged to be involved in the Lamitan siege, Thursday in the downtown of Lamitan City, Basilan province, according to officials. The suspect, charged for kidnapping with illegal detention, was identified as a certain Abu Benjamin, according to Capt. Alberto Caber, Spokesman of 1st Army Division. Caber said the suspect was cornered in Barangay Oval by the joint military and police intelligence unit and elements from the 32nd Infantry Battalion and Lamitan police. “Alias Abu Benjamin was involved in the infamous Lamitan siege in June 2001 following the Dos Palmas kidnapping and the invasion of the bandits in the city and took hostage of medical staff of the Jose Maria Torres Memorial Hospital,” Caber said. The suspect who was then with the group of slain abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani and henchman Aldam Tilao alias Abu Sabaya also occupied adjacent Saint Peter’s Church during the siege. The suspect was brought to the military headquarters in this city and placed under tactical debriefing before he would be handed over to the court for proper disposition. Maj. Gen. Ricardo Rainier Cruz III, 1st Army Division chief, commended the troops and ordered to continue the hunt against the Abu Sayyaf group, who is blamed for the spate of abductions and bombing attacks in the region.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2012/11/15/867050/asg-members-lamitan-siege-falls