Malaysian hostages safe despite attack

From the Star Online (Nov 5): Malaysian hostages safe despite attack

KOTA KINABALU: Two Malaysian hostages are believed to be safe after a military offensive against Abu Sayyaf gunmen positions over the weekend on Jolo island in southern Philippines.

A Filipino academician, who closely monitors operations against the Abu Sayyaf, said Marine police Kons Zakiah Aleip and fish farm breeder Chan Sai Chuin were merely 3km from where the Philippine air force bombed the gunmen early Saturday.

Southern Mindanao State Uni­versity Prof Octavio Dinampo said Zakiah and Chan were being held at the Indanan municipality along with two other European hostages directly under the control of Abu Sayyaf commander Radulan Sahiron.

He said the military attack – beginning with a gunfight between the gunmen and Philippine Marines at about 6am – occurred near a camp that the Abu Sayyaf had abandoned two months earlier.

“The hostages are being kept together and no longer separately under different sub-commanders,” he said, adding that the change came amid word of the Philippine security forces stepping up their offensive against the gunmen.

Zakiah was abducted after gunmen attacked a Marine police unit on Pulau Mabul, Semporna, on July 12.

Chan was kidnapped June 14 when gunmen took him from the fish farm he was managing in Kampung Sapang, Kunak.

The two European hostages are ornithologists Ewold Horn of Hol­land and Lorenzo Vinciguerra of Switzerland, who have been captives since February 2012.

Treasure hunter Toshio Ito, a Japanese national who was kidnapped in 2010, was not considered a captive as the Philippine military believed he was now collaborating with the Abu Sayyaf.

Philippine president Benigno Aquino ordered his security forces to continue their operations against the Abu Sayyaf until the gunmen were “wiped out”.

Aquino said there were about 200 Abu Sayyaf gunmen and 200 or so sympathisers on Jolo island, which had gained a reputation as the kidnap capital of the Philippines.

“The military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf includes depriving the gunmen of their safe haven by sending battalions of troops to the gunmen’s bases,” he said.

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/11/05/Msian-hostages-safe-despite-attack-Fish-breeder-and-policeman-no-longer-being-kept-separately-says-s/