ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 13, 2012) – Philippine soldiers captured two Abu Sayyaf rebels implicated in the kidnapping of 21 people, including three US citizens, from a posh Filipino resort in the 2001, officials said Thursday.
Officials said the two men – Imam Pai and Aling – were captured late Wednesday in their hideout in Zamboanga del Norte’s Labason town.
Major General Ricardo Rainier Cruz III, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, hailed the capture of the duo and lauded the soldiers behind the operation.
“This success shows the good cooperation among law enforcement agencies, the civilian community and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and government efforts are continuing to ensure that justice will always prevail. We need to win the peace for the safety and well-being of the community,” Cruz told regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
The duo was among those who kidnapped holidaymakers, among them a US missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham, and California man Guillermo Sobero, in Dos Palmas resort in Palawan province.
Sobero was eventually killed and Martin Burnham was shot during a US-led military rescue operation in Zamboanga del Norte. Burnham’s wife was rescued, but wounded after being hit by a stray bullet in the fire fight between troops and rebels.
Captain Albert Caber, an army spokesman, said both Pai and Aling, had warrants for their arrest and have long been wanted by law for their involvement in the mass kidnappings and other atrocities.
“The capture of the two means two less terrorists on the street,” he said.
Caber said the two men were brought to Zamboanga City where they are being interrogated by the military.
Authorities linked the Abu Sayyaf to the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
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