| 23 more hostage takers surrender
ZAMBOANGA (Reuters) -
Twentythree more Muslim rebels have surrendered to government forces pursuing guerrilla
groups holding four foreign hostages on southern Jolo island, the military said yesterday.
This brought to 86 the number
of rebels who have laid down their arms since the military launched attacks on their
hideouts in mid-September, military spokesman Captain Charlemagne Batayola said.
The four hostages held by the
fundamentalist Abu Sayyaf rebels include American national Jeffrey Schilling, who was
taken captive in the last week of August, and three Malaysian nationals, who were abducted
on September 10.
A Filipino is also in rebel
captivity, one of a group of 21 mostly foreign hostages seized by the guerrillas in April
from a neighboring Malaysian island. The other 20 have been released.
The military said at least 138
rebels and 15 soldiers had died in clashes during the five-week-long military operation.
Ninety-two other guerrillas
have been captured, it said.
The rebels at one point
numbered about 4,000 but their ranks dwindled to 300 hard-core members after soldiers
began attacking their hideouts, forcing many to give up the fight and blend with the local
population, the military said.
Surrender
Sixteen more members of the Abu
Sayyaf Group (ASG) have returned to the fold of the law as they surrendered to the
Department of the Interior and Local Government - Task Force Katapat II (DILG-TFKII).
This was announced yesterday by
Chief Supt. Romeo B. Maganto, leader of the DILG-TFKII, during a press briefing at his
office in Makati City.
In his report to Interior and
Local Government Secretary Alfredo S. Lim, Maganto identified the 16 suspected ASG members
as Radjan Hussein, 32; Balabol Sarian, 20; Sarail Uling, 35; Salihudin Aharani, 40; Karram
Hamid, 20; Tiri Ambo, 30; Abraham Masikul, 34; Tawwah Jumah, 35; Baktal Jaradon, 38;
Julpikal Hadil, 28; Nadjah Natujam, 28; Hajan Mijan, 67; Anni Mijan, 20; Muhayin Mijan,
25; Hasan Daing, 23; and Abdulfiti Amil, 26.
Maganto said the ASG members
surrendered to joint elements of the Southern Command, Sulu Provincial Police Office, and
the DILG-TFKII-Task Group Mindanao led by Supt. Idjal Gandawali.
The surrender, Maganto said,
took place at about 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 20, at Barangay Kagay in Talipao, Sulu.
The 16 ASG members, who belong
to the group of Commander Mujib Susukan, also turned over their firearms.
The firearms surrendered by the
ASG members included an M-16 Armalite rifle, several M-1 garand rifles, an M1 carbine cal
.30, and several .38 caliber revolvers. (Elena L. Aben and Rico C. Navarro)
Back to Sipadan/Pandanan Hostages News
Back
to This Week's Borneo News |
