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| Two Europeans kidnapped in Philippines | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 2 2012, 09:56 PM (1,079 Views) | |
| arvcab | Feb 2 2012, 09:56 PM Post #1 |
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http://ph.news.yahoo.com/two-europeans-kid...-210753549.html Two European birdwatchers were abducted Wednesday in the remote southern Philippines where Islamic militants frequently kidnap foreigners to extort ransoms, authorities said. Gunmen seized the men, a Dutch and a Swiss, on a tiny island that is part of the Tawi-Tawi archipelago and forced them onto a speedboat, said regional police chief Felicisimo Khu. Ivan Sarenas, a Filipino guide, was also kidnapped but later jumped off the boat and swam to safety, while a second guide had escaped earlier and reported the crime to authorities, Khu said in a written report. "Ivan Sarenas was able to escape from his abductors by jumping out of the speeding pumpboat," Khu said. The gunmen were still holding Swiss national Lorenzo Vinciguerra, 47, and Dutchman Ewold Horn, 52, the official added. Khu said the Philippine Navy mounted a naval blockade of the island to prevent them escaping to the nearby Sulu archipelago, a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf militants who have kidnapped foreigners in the past for ransom. Sarenas is a member of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines and went to the area in search of the critically-endangered Sulu bleeding-heart pigeon, one of the world's rarest birds, the club's treasurer, Michael Lu, told AFP. Lu described the suspects as locals. "They apparently planned to sell them (hostages) to the Abu Sayyaf or the MILF," he said, referring to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a Muslim armed group now in peace talks with the government after a decades-old guerrilla war. The Dutch foreign ministry refused to confirm the abduction and said it did not know the identity of those kidnapped. Regional military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Randolph Cabangbang said the military did not yet know who abducted the trio. But immediate suspicion fell on Islamic militants who are based in the southern Philippines and frequently kidnap foreigners as well as locals in efforts to extort ransoms. The Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf is the most infamous group based in the south, but other bandits and kidnapping gangs also roam the often lawless area that is close to Malaysian waters. A rotating force of 600 US troops have been stationed in the southern region of Mindanao for a decade, helping to train local soldiers how to combat the Abu Sayyaf and other Islamic militants. Wednesday's abductions lifted the number of foreigners kidnapped in the southern Philippines since the beginning of last year to 10. Five of them -- an Australian, two Malaysian traders, an Indian married to a Filipina and a Japanese man -- are still in captivity. Three abducted Filipinos are also still being held. The Australian, 53-year-old Warren Rodwell, was kidnapped from his home in in a southern town in December and appeared in a video released to media last month in which he said his abductors were demanding $2 million for his release. "To the Australian embassy here in the Philippines, this is your constituent appealing for his life, his safety. Please help facilitate," Rodwell said. In 2000 the Abu Sayyaf kidnapped 21 mostly European tourists from a Malaysian island resort and brought them by boat to the Philippine island of Jolo, not far from Tawi Tawi. The hostages were ransomed off after many months for millions of dollars, with Libya brokering the deals and facilitating their release. The following year the Abu Sayyaf kidnapped three Americans along with a group of Filipino tourists from a southwestern Philippine island resort. One of the Americans was beheaded and another was killed during a rescue attempt. The Abu Sayyaf was founded in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network. It is believed to have only a few hundred militants but is blamed for the country's worst terrorist attacks, including the bombing of a ferry in Manila in 2004 that killed more than 100 people, as well as kidnappings. |
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| superman | Feb 2 2012, 10:28 PM Post #2 |
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Are these 2 foreigner unaware where they are heading? Bird watching in Tawi Tawi my goodness, It's their fault for not taking care of themselves even locals are being kidnapped in this part of the Mindanao what more a foreign national? ASG is now marginalized that is why they will do everything to survived and kidnapping is the only option to gain income so again this will be another headache to AFP same old story. |
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| AVBsupersonic | Feb 3 2012, 01:03 AM Post #3 |
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These kidnappings of foreigners are the ones killing the Country and it's tourism, the Govt. should step up and totally eradicate these bad elements in order for Philippine tourism to grow and be one of the main source of economic growth, replacing OFW remittances, bringing them back home, will create more local jobs and businesses for everyone. We have a lot to offer with lots of unexplored things for the whole World to see how beautiful this neglected Country of 7,100+ Islands in SE Asia. |
| "Some are just lucky that they're not under oath and are not classified!"- Blue badge | |
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| Ayoshi | Feb 3 2012, 07:28 AM Post #4 |
 
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 Elite Philippine Navy commandos secure waters in the remote southern Philippine island of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi province, in 2007. Two European birdwatchers were abducted Wednesday in the remote southern Philippines where Islamic militants frequently kidnap foreigners to extort ransoms, authorities said. SOURCE |
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| spearhead | Feb 3 2012, 10:37 PM Post #5 |
DoctorNO, Your Neutral Observer.
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Another test for the AFP's elite commandos they were showcasing after the incident in manila bus hostage 1 1/2 yrs ago. |
"Men of War must learn the art of numbers or he will not know how to array his troops." - Plato  
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| Ayoshi | Feb 4 2012, 06:15 AM Post #6 |
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Philippines battles rebels after air strike   Philippine troops battled Muslim extremists on a remote southern island on Friday where a day earlier three of Southeast Asia's top terror suspects were killed in a US-backed air strike, the army said. Soldiers who approached the bombed area on the outskirts of a small village on Jolo island after the raid faced dogged resistance from surviving militants, regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang said. "There is intermittent fire, the area is not yet secured," Cabangbang told GMA television in a telephone interview. The troops had moved into the scene of the strike in an effort to retrieve the bodies of the three senior militants who were killed, as well as to take on the others who survived Thursday's aerial assault. The military said 15 members of the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) organisations were killed in the air raid, which followed months of surveillance on the sparsely populated and isolated hinterland of Jolo. Cabangbang gave no indication as to the scale of Friday's fighting, but military chiefs said on Thursday that about 30 militants were at the scene when the bombings began. The military said it had targeted, and killed, Malaysian Zulkifli bin Abdul Hir, alias Marwan, one of the United States' most-wanted terror suspects with a $5 million bounty on his head from the US government. Zulkifli was one of JI's top leaders and a bomb-making expert who had been hiding out in the southern Philippines since 2003, according to the US State Department. Also reported killed was Singaporean Mohammad Ali, alias Muawiyah, another JI leader who had been hiding in the Philippines since the group killed 202 people in a series of bomb attacks on the Indonesian island of Bali in 2002. The third senior militant reported killed was Filipino Abu Pula, also known as Doctor Abu or Umbra Jumdail, one of the core leaders of the Abu Sayyaf that is blamed for the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines. The military claimed the killings dealt a major blow to the capabilities of the two terror groups, particularly their ability to strike in the Philippines. Philippine armed forces spokesman Colonel Arnufo Burgos said on Thursday that the US military provided intelligence that helped in the success on the bombing raid. A rotating force of 600 US Special Forces has been stationed in the southern Philippines since 2002 to help train local troops in how to combat Islamic militants. The US forces are only allowed to advise the Filipino soldiers and are banned from playing a combat role. SOURCE |
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| arvcab | Feb 12 2012, 08:06 AM Post #7 |
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http://ph.news.yahoo.com/2-europeans-kidna...-171047836.html TABIAWAN, Basilan Province ,Philippines – The kidnappers of two European birdwatchers have demanded the pullout of military units in Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi in exchange for their release. Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes said the demand was contained in an email sent to the local birdwatching organization of Dutch man Elwold Horn and Swiss Lorenzo Vinciguerre. Felicisimo Khu, chief of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operation for Western Mindanao, confirmed that the email was sent last Feb. 7 using the account of Ivan Sarenas, the Filipino guide, who was seized together with the Europeans, but escaped. A certain Mustapha Mualam, who claimed to represent the kidnappers, sent the email. “Informed the Philippine government to full (sic) back the military operation to there (sic) respective camp within Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi,” the email, which Khu showed to reporters states. Khu said still they are verifying the veracity of the email, adding that the sender could be a prankster. “I think somebody wants to confuse the situation, especially those trying to rescue the kidnap victims,”he said. Khu, said a man who did not identify himself, earlier contacted a television network in Manila last Feb. 2 claiming they have the victims and made the same demands in exchange for the release of the two kidnap victims. However, the man failed to provide any evidence when the television network asked for a proof of life. Khu said they already have a list of the possible suspects in the kidnapping. Khu said Tawi-Tawi Gov. Sadikul Sahali have sent an emissary to negotiate for the safe release of the victims once the group holding them have been identified. - By Roel Pareño (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com) |
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| Mckoyzzz | Feb 12 2012, 02:19 PM Post #8 |
Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est
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This post should be merged to the already existing thread below: http://z3.invisionfree.com/Defense_Philipp...?showtopic=9946 |
 "Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong -- Dandemis" | |
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