| 11 Abu Sayyaf rebs surrender ZAMBOANGA CITY, (ABS-CBN) –
Eleven members of the extremist Abu Sayyaf group surrendered to government troops in
Maimbung and Talipao over the weekend, the military said Sunday.
The rebels also yielded
high-powered firearms to the military, according to Southern Command spokesman Colonel
Hilario Atendido.
Atendido said at least 486 Abu
Sayyaf gunmen have been "neutralized" by government troops in the continuing
military offensive against the extremist group on Jolo Island in Sulu province.
Of this number, some 162
extremists have been killed, 125 captured, while 199 voluntarily surrendered to the
military.
"This is the result of the
government offensive through Task Force Trident against the Abu Sayyaf," he said.
The hostage crisis began in
April when the rebels abducted 21 Asian and European hostages from the nearby Malaysian
resort of Sipadan.
All but one, Filipino dive
master Roland Ullah, have been released following payments of huge ransoms, according to
sources close to negotiations.
The rebels later abducted more
captives, including American Jeffrey Schilling, three Malaysians, two Frenchmen and 12
Filipino Christian preachers.
Only Ullah and Schilling remain
in captivity, while the rest were recovered safely during the rescue bid.
In related news, two
rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) were fired last Friday at two cargo vessels docked at the
wharf of the Tagum Agricultural Development Company (Tadeco) in Panabo, Davao del Norte.
However, both explosives missed
their targets, the M/V James and M/V Almeria
Local police said the blasts,
the third in two weeks, occurred just 10 meters away from the vessels.
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