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FACTBOX-Philippine rebel group Abu Sayyaf blamed for kidnappings
16 Jan 2009 02:17:13 GMT
 Source: Reuters
MANILA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Philippine troops have fanned out on a southern island to search for gunmen who abducted three members of the International Committee on the Red Cross (ICRC), including an Italian and a Swiss national, officials said on Friday.

There has been no word from the kidnappers, believed to be from the notorious Abu Sayyaf group of Islamic radicals, they said. (For full story, double click on [ID:nMAN230786])

Following are some facts about the group, which is on the U.S. State Department's blacklist for the abduction and murder of tourists, including Americans:

- The Abu Sayyaf, which translates as "Bearer of the Sword", was formed in the 1990s by a charismatic Islamic preacher who had returned from Afghanistan after the armies of the former Soviet Union were driven out of the country in 1989.

- The Abu Sayyaf wants an independent Islamic nation in the Philippines, aligning itself with militants who espouse a similar vision of a pan-Islamic super-state in Southeast Asia. It has been linked to al Qaeda and to Jemaah Islamiah, which seeks a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia.

- The founder and leader of the Abu Sayyaf, Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani, was killed in December 1998 in a gunbattle with police on Basilan island and was replaced six months later by his younger brother, Khaddafy Janjalani. Another brother, Hector, has been in jail for murder and kidnapping.

- Based on the Basilan and Sulu islands off Mindanao, it began with small attacks, targeting Roman Catholic churches, missionaries and nuns but soon graduated to larger-scale assaults as well as high-profile kidnapping and murder of foreigners, including a kidnapping on a Malaysian resort island in 2000.

- A year later it kidnapped tourists and workers from a resort in the western Philippines. Most were released on payment of ransom, but three victims, including an American were beheaded.

- The group was blamed for the bombing of a domestic ferry near Manila Bay in February 2004, killing more than 100 people.

- Two Indonesian militants wanted for the 2002 Bali bombings are suspected to have been given shelter by the Abu Sayyaf.

- Khaddafy Janjalani was believed to have died from bullet wounds during an assault by marines on a rebel hideout on Jolo in September 2006.

- Of the top five leaders of the Abu Sayyaf, four are believed killed -- Janjalani; Abu Sabaya, killed in a sea battle in June 2002; Hamsiraji Sali, killed in a clash on Basilan in April 2004; and Abu Sulaiman, killed in January 2007.

- The one-armed rebel leader Radullan Sahiron is the last surviving top leader of the group. Other senior members include Basilan-based Isnilon Hapilon, who is wanted by U.S. authorities, and Jolo-based Umbra Jumdail, alias Abu Pula, and Albader Parad.

- Yasser Igasan, a foreign-trained Islamic preacher, is suspected by the military to have taken over from Khaddafy Janjalani because of his extensive contacts with foreign militant groups and his religious background.

- The Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point said last year the frequency and lethality of attacks attributed to the Abu Sayyaf had dropped since 2007 because of the death of its top leaders. It estimates the strength of the group at about 350. (Reporting by Manny Mogato and Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)


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Last updated:Fri Jan 16 02:18:47 2009