TAWI-TAWI – The Philippine military on Monday alerted its forces in the Sulu Archipelago near the Malaysian border after gunmen snatched 2 Indonesian fishermen off Sabah.
Officials said at least 5 gunmen were involved in Saturday attack on a Malaysian trawler off the coastal town of Kunak in Tawau Division.
“Reports received from the Malaysian authorities disclosed that two Indonesian fishermen of a Malaysian-registered trawler were forcibly taken on Saturday by five unidentified armed men,” said army Major Filemon Tan, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command.
He identified the two abducted Indonesians as Saparuddin Kone, the skipper; and his crewman Sawal Maryam.
The attackers were on a speedboat when they intercepted the trawler, according to Tan. “Troops of the Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi under the Western Mindanao Command were promptly alerted for counteraction and informed air and naval assets patrolling the area to scour the sea lanes and verify possible docking sites,” he said.
Just recently, Malaysian authorities also reported that gunmen also abducted 2 Indonesian fishing boat skippers in separate attacks in Sabah.
The two men were seized by armed men on November 5 and they were immediately reported to the Eastern Sabah Security Command, but efforts to find and rescue the skippers failed.
The official Bernama News Agency reported that the gunmen were believed to be based in Tawi-Tawi, one of 5 provinces under the troubled Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao in southern Philippines. It said the gunmen spared other fishermen and only targeted the skippers.
It was not immediately known whether the abductions were carried out by the Abu Sayyaf or not, but the notorious rebel group tied to the Islamic State is still holding about a dozen Malaysian and Indonesian sailors kidnapped this year off Sabah and are being held in southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
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