Abu Sayyaf free Marites Flor as Indonesia says 7 more sailors snatched in Sulu Sea

From IntterAksyon (Jun 24): Abu Sayyaf free Marites Flor as Indonesia says 7 more sailors snatched in Sulu Sea

(UPDATE - 1:10 p.m.) The Abu Sayyaf has released Marites Flor, the Filipina girlfriend of Canadian Robert Hall, who they executed early last week, an intelligence report said Friday.

News of Flor's release came the same day Indonesia confirmed that seven sailors were kidnapped from a tugboat in the Sulu Sea early this week.

The raw report, made available by a police intelligence source who goes by the nickname Pokemon, said Flor was released by Abu Sayyaf gunmen under Mujer Yadah to Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan Thursday night.

"Info received from single source on or about 240730H June 2016, that the ASG under Mujer YADAH had released Filipina Samal KV Flor on the night of 23 June 2016 to Gov TAN," it said.

A ransom was allegedly paid for Flor’s freedom, the report added.

Hall and Flor were among four persons kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf from Samal Island in September last year.

The kidnappers executed their first hostage, Canadian John Ridsdel, in April after a deadline for a P600 ransom for each of the hostages lapsed.

Both Ridsdel and Hall were beheaded, their heads left in Jolo, Sulu.

Flor’s release makes Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad the last remaining Samal hostage still in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf.

In Jakarta, Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi said the crew were towing a coal barge in the Sulu sea on Monday when their tugboat was hijacked by armed groups.

Seven sailors were taken hostage in two separate attacks on the vessel around an hour apart, Marsudi added. The six other crew aboard the tugboat were left unharmed.

"The government will do everything possible to free these hostages," Marsudi told reporters.

"The safety of these seven Indonesian citizens is our priority."

A spokesman for the foreign ministry said he could not confirm whether a ransom demand had been made, or if the Abu Sayyaf was responsible for the abductions.

Earlier this year the group kidnapped four Malaysian seamen and 14 Indonesian sailors, holding them in their stronghold in the southern Philippines. They were freed several months later but there was no information on whether a ransom was paid.

A spokesman for the Philippine government said they were working to verify the report.

If confirmed, it would be the third kidnapping of Indonesian sailors this year.

The defence ministers of the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia agreed this week to consider coordinated steps including possible joint patrols to tackle a wave of seaborne crime in the Sulu and Celebes seas, which together form a key waterway among the three countries.

http://interaksyon.com/article/129508/abu-sayyaf-free-marites-flor-as-indonesia-says-7-more-sailors-snatched-in-sulu-sea