Five gunmen have seized three Indonesian crew members in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah just off the southern Filipino
Reports said the armed men were on a speedboat when they
intercepted Saturday night the tugboat and abducted the three out of the 7
crewmen. It was unknown whether the abductors were members of the Abu Sayyaf or
not, but according to reports some the gunmen spoke Malay and Tausug, a dialect
spoken in the provinces of Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and Basilan, all in the Muslim
autonomous region.
There was no immediate confirmation from Philippine
authorities on the latest abduction, but this occurred near where Abu Sayyaf
militants had kidnapped 7 other Indonesian tugboat crew members on June 29.
The tugboat Charles – owned by PT Rusianto Brothers – was
heading to Samarinda in East Kalimantan following a trip from the Philippines
when gunmen on speedboats intercepted it and seized Ferry Arifin, the skipper;
M. Mahbrur Dahri, Edi Suryono, Ismail, M.Nasir, M.Sofyan
and Robin Piter. The Abu Sayyaf is demanding 20 million ringgits for the
safe release of the hostages.
The Abu Sayyaf
previously kidnapped 14 Indonesian tugboat crewmembers in
separate attacks at sea and brought them to Sulu province and eventually
released through the intercession of the Moro National Liberation
Front. It has beheaded a Malaysian man and two Canadian hostages in Sulu,
one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao .
The Abu Sayyaf is still holding a Dutchman, a Norwegian and
a Japanese man, including 3 Filipinos.
http://mindanaoexaminer.com/gunmen-seized-3-indon-sailors-anew-off-sabah/
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