ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner /Sept. 20, 2012) – Philippine security forces rescued the last of 2 Chinese iron ore traders kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf following a clash Thursday that left 3 gunmen dead and another captured in the southern port city of Zamboanga, officials told the Mindanao Examiner regional newspaper.
Officials said Jampong Lin-Yuankai, 38, was rescued in the village called Calabasa at around 10 a.m. Kidnappers last month freed his compatriot Jian Luo, 48, in Zamboanga City in exchange for P5 million ransom.
The kidnappers originally demanded $5 million for their safe release.
The two men are natives of Guangdong province and are engaged in buying and selling of manganese and other minerals. They were kidnapped from their apartment in Kabasalan town in Zamboanga Sibugay province where the foreigners had been operating since last year.
The details of the daring rescue operations carried by elite members of the police and military were not immediately known, but security forces clashed with the group of a notorious militant leader Khair Mundos, who has links with al-Qaeda terror network.
It was unknown whether Mundos was among those killed in the clash or not, but one report identified some of the kidnappers as Ajijul Temeng, Tago Pingli and Termije. The fighting last about 15 minutes and there were no reports of casualties on either the police or military side.
Mundos is wanted both by the Philippine and US authorities for his role in the transfer of al-Qaeda funds to the Abu Sayyaf which had been used to carry out terror attacks in Mindanao and other parts of the country.
According to the US Rewards for Justice Program, Mundos is a key leader and financier of the Abu Sayyaf. He was arrested in May 2004 and confessed to having arranged the transfer of funds from al-Qaeda to Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadafy Janjalani. But in February 2007, Mundos escaped from the Kidapawan Provincial Jail in North Cotabato province.
“Because of his leadership position in the Abu Sayyaf Group, whose terrorist attacks have resulted in the deaths of US and Filipino citizens, US authorities consider Mundos to be a threat to US and Filipino citizens and interests,” the Rewards for Justice said on its website about Mundos and Washington offered up to $500,000 reward for his capture.
The Rewards for Justice Program continues to be one of the most valuable US Government assets in the fight against international terrorism. Since the inception of the program in 1984, the US government paid more than $100 million to over 70 people who provided “actionable” information that put terrorists behind bars or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide.
It said the program played a significant role in the arrest of international terrorist Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Philippine authorities also linked Yousef to the Abu Sayyaf. (Mindanao Examiner)
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