The hostages were sitting on the ground, surrounded by at least eight men
Three foreign men and a Filipina kidnapped last month in the southern
Gunmen raided a luxury marina near the major southern city
of Davao
No group immediately claimed responsibility but the video
uploaded on YouTube on Monday appeared to confirm it was the Abu Sayyaf, which
has a long history of kidnappings-for-ransom in the southern Philippines
In the video, the three foreigners appealed for Philippine
authorities to halt military assaults against the gunmen.
The hostages were sitting on the ground, surrounded by at
least eight men holding high-powered machine guns. One man also holds a large
knife.
After the three foreigners spoke, one of the gunmen, with a
scarf and sunglasses completely covering his face, spoke in English, repeating
his demand for military operations to stop against “us”.
He said once the military operations stopped, the kidnappers
would be prepared to start negotiations for the hostages’ freedom.
In all other Abu Sayyaf kidnappings of foreigners, the group
has demanded and often received large sums of money for the release of its
captives.
The Canadians abducted were John Ridsdel, 68, and Robert
Hall, 50, and the Norwegian resort owner was Kjartan Sekkingstad, 56.
Hall’s girlfriend, Marites Flor, was also abducted. She did
not speak in the video.
Philippine authorities had previously said they did not know
if the Abu Sayyaf was behind the abductions, nor where the hostages were being
held.
This was despite security analysts saying it was almost certain
the Abu Sayyaf was responsible, and that the victims were being held on Jolo
island, the group’s stronghold about 1,000 kilometres south of Manila
In the video, Ridsdel referred specifically to nearby
artillery fire and to overhead flights.
When asked to comment on the demands, the regional military
spokesman for the area, Captain Antonio Bulao, said troops had conducted an
assault that included artillery fire against an Abu Sayyaf leader on Jolo on
October 8.
Bulao, spokesman for the Western Mindanao command, said the
assault was aimed at Radullan Sahiron, who is on the US
Sahiron was involved in the kidnappings of three Americans
in 2001 from a resort in the southwestern Philippines ,
according to a US
One of the Americans was beheaded.
Bulao said Sahiron was believed to be currently holding a
Dutch birdwatcher kidnapped from a southern Philippine island in 2012, as well
as two unnamed Filipinos.
The Abu Sayyaf is holding three other foreigners, a Korean
and two Malaysians, military officials said earlier.
An Abu Sayyaf leader appeared online last year pledging
allegiance to Daesh.
But Philippine authorities and security analysts say the
group has little religious ideology, and is primarily concerned with getting
money through kidnappings.
http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/philippines/foreign-hostages-in-philippines-appear-in-video-1.1600139
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