More violence in Mindanao

[cheryz]

absolutely i agree with you sir, i just think about it only in Zamboanga Island is dangerus place so if given a chance to tour mindanao that would be nice to go i see many beautiful places there.

[jadegil6]

The latest news regarding the Zamboanga area in southwestern Mindanao:

The Philippines will deploy elite soldiers as it intensifies efforts to locate 12 hostages, including five foreigners, held by the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militant group in Sulu province in the nation’s south.

Military chief General Gregorio Pio Catapang ordered the use of 100 special forces soldiers from Zamboanga City in the Mindanao region, the armed forces said today in an e-mailed statement.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines is serious in its effort to flush out the bandits and contribute toward the eventual release of the victims,” military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Harold Cabunoc said in the statement. The Philippines won’t negotiate with the terrorist group, it said.

The deployment comes after the military on Oct. 6 said it had formed K-9 troop and dog units to track the militants. Germany on Sept. 24 said it won’t bend to threats after a message attributed to the Abu Sayyaf said it may execute two German hostages seized in April in waters off Palawan province.

The Abu Sayyaf said it would kill the captives if Germany didn’t pay a ransom and end its support for the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State in the Middle East, the SITE intelligence group reported on its website.

The special forces soldiers are skilled in long-range reconnaissance, sniper work and infiltration deep inside enemy territory, according to the military statement.

[wayne208]

I have heard some good things about the Skill and Bravery of These Elite Fighters . May God watch over them and their Families and May All the Hostage's come Home safe . Thank You Sir Michael for Keeping Us informed .

[jadegil6]

Two Germans kidnapped and held for six months in southern Philippines were released Friday by the Abu Sayyaf Group just hours after it had threatened to behead one of them if no ransom payment was made.

The Abu Sayyaf released Stefan Okonek and Henrike Dielen in Jolo, Sulu, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said.

Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Rami told radio station dxRZ in Zamboanga City that his group received P250 million ($5.6 million) in ransom. He did not say who paid it.

Gazmin said he was "not privy" to information about any ransom payment.

"We're happy they're safe. I hope there will be no more" kidnappings, Gazmin said by telephone.

Abu Sayyaf gunmen seized Okonek and Dielen last April from a yacht between Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo Island and the western Philippine province of Palawan. They were taken by boat to Sulu province, about 950 kilometers (590 miles) south of Manila, where militants are holding other hostages.

Abu Rami had threatened to behead Okonek on Friday if there was no ransom payment. The group also demanded the withdrawal of German support for US-led air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

In a call to the Zamboanga radio station, Rami said Okonek and Dielen were released to a negotiator in Patikul town on Jolo Island, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold.
"The P250 million arrived, no more, no less," he said.

In an interview with dxRZ allowed by the bandit group earlier this week, Okonek, 71, who identified himself as a medical doctor, pleaded, "please do everything to get us out of here."

He said he was speaking from inside a five-meter-by-three-meter (15 foot-by-10 foot) "grave" the gunmen had dug for him in the jungle. He said he and Dielen had been separated by the bandits about a day earlier.

"They pushed me inside this hole and I'm sitting with 10 men around me all day, 24 hours a day. I don't get enough to eat. I have lost already 20 pounds and I am very weak," he said.

Military chief of staff General Gregorio Catapang said the freed hostages were taken to a hospital in a military camp and would be flown to Manila on Saturday.

He said the military and police would conduct an "all-out offensive" against the Abu Sayyaf and "look for the other kidnap victims."

Catapang said the Abu Sayyaf is still holding more than a dozen other hostages, including Filipinos and two European birdwatchers who were kidnapped two years ago.

The bandits have been using the birdwatchers as "human shields" from government offensives, according to regional military commander Lieutenant General Rustico Guerrero.

The kidnappings dramatize the threats still posed by the Abu Sayyaf despite more than a decade of US-backed Philippine military offensives that has crippled the group. Their ransom kidnappings have alarmed nearby countries like Malaysia.

In 2000, Abu Sayyaf gunmen snatched 21 European tourists, including three Germans, and Malaysian and Filipino workers from Malaysia's Sipadan diving resort and brought them to Sulu, where they eventually were freed in exchange for large ransom payments

[cheryz]

ive just watched it in tv awhile ago and the two germans escorted by many policemen around to the airport they will flew back to germany.
i hope and pray that abu sayaff will be jailed one day. hope that pnp, airforce or whatever government official will make him surrender..so it may have a peaceful life in jolo sulu.

[jadegil6]

Sunday, January 25, 2015
MAGUINDANAO – Dozens of police commandos were reported killed and wounded in fierce clashes Sunday with Moro Islamic Liberation Front members in the southern Philippines.

The Special Action Force commandos were pursuing a “high-value” individual on the hinterland village of Tukanalipao in Maguindanao’s Mamasapano town when they intruded inside an MILF base before dawn sparking a firefight for many hours.

Intelligence reports said as many as 37 commandos were feared dead in the encounter, but their bodies have not been recovered due to sporadic clashes. The number of casualties could be higher.


The police sent more reinforcement to rescue the commandos, but was also intercepted by Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters near the village. Four BIFF fighters were reported slain in the clashes.

Army troops were sent to the area after police sought help from the military to retrieve the slain commandos.

Police and military officials were not immediately available to give a statement, but the MILF, which signed a peace deal with Manila last year, has confirmed the clashes and blamed the police for the violence.

“There were fierce clashes. Police forces attacked the MILF at two o’clock in the morning and our forces have to defend themselves to save their lives,” MILF Vice Chairman and chief peace negotiator, Mohagher Iqbal, told regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

Iqbal said the police did not coordinate with the MILF when it launched so-called law enforcement operations in the town. “There was no prior coordination from us and police just launched the operations,” he said.

The 6th Infantry Division was also not informed of the police operations and unaware of it until soldiers reported heavy clashes before day break and fighting lasted until late in the afternoon.

The fighting erupted just as President Aquino visited Zamboanga City which was the scene of a deadly car bombing blamed on the Abu Sayyaf rebels. Two people were killed and 54 others wounded in the blast outside a disco bar on January 23.

Aquino was briefed by police and military officials on the security situation in Zamboanga and later visited blast victims in hospitals. He was also informed about the clashes in Maguindanao, but it was unknown if he would go to the restive province and meet with security and MILF officials.

His sudden visit also coincided with the arrival of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte who is advocating federal form of government. Duterte is being pushed by many Filipinos to run for president in next year’s general elections.

Aquino is said to be eyeing Interior Secretary Mar Roxas as the government’s presidential bet. Aside from Duterte and Roxas, Vice President Jejomar Binay is also eyeing the presidency. (Mindanao Examiner - With a report from Mark Navales)

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[wayne208]

I feel so sorry for the Brave soldiers who Died . May God Watch over them and their Families . Thank You Michael for the up Date . I will Pass on this Island for Sure and I do not Care how Pretty it is

[cheryz]

thank you sir for the update i never used to watch news lately.

[jadegil6]

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This is an aerial view by drone of the 42 caskets of the Philippine National Policemen who were massacred a few days ago. Taken at the Villamor Air base in Metro Manila. Hopefully, the Philippine government will do something about this tragedy because the whole world is watching....especially the Muslim terrorists and also the Chinese who are claiming themselves sole owners of the Spradley Islands. If the Philippine government doesn't have the backbone to police it's own country, then most likely they will do nothing to stop the Chinese.

[wayne208]

The Philippine Soldiers will have to be allowed to use what ever force is needed to Stop This .. This many Fine Men and Women dying ?? Sir Michael is Right the world will be watching . I pray the Leaders lead wisely .