Abu Sayyaf allegedly involved in trader's abduction

From the Philippine Star (Jan 12): Abu Sayyaf allegedly involved in trader's abduction

Security forces blamed today Abu Sayyaf militants for the abduction of a trader here last night. Edwin de Ocampo, chief of police in the city, said the police have noted in this case the usual pattern of the Abu Sayyaf militants: their targets are mostly staying or having coastal properties, and the kidnappers use speedboat in escaping.

De Ocampo said in order to track down the whereabout of abducted victim Edgar Favella, the authorities have already mobilized various intelligence units of both the police and the military in the nearby province of Basilan and Sulu, islands which are known to have strong presence of the Abu Sayyaf militants.

Favella, a small restaurant and trucking business owner, was abducted shortly before 7 p.m. Friday inside his eatery at the seafront village of Maasin by five gunmen, two on board motorcycles as lookout and three others on a speedboat that took the victim away.

The Abu Sayyaf was founded in early 1990s by Islamic extremists, and it has degenerated into a loose alliance of local armed bandit groups over the past decade, carrying out a series of terrorist attacks and high-profile kidnapping.

http://www.philstar.com/breaking-news/2013/01/12/896197/abu-sayyaf-allegedly-involved-traders-abduction