ZAMBOANGA CITY – Suspected Filipino gunmen abducted 3 crewmen of a trawler in a daring cross-border raid into the rich Malaysian state of Sabah just off the southern Philippine province of Tawi-Tawi, reports said on Sunday.
It said 7 armed men on a green speedboat intercepted the boat near the island of Pompom off Semporna town and seized the trio, one of them its skipper. Four other crew members were left unharmed and reported the incident to their employer.
The fishing company immediately reported the abduction to the police before dawn Sunday, saying the incident occurred late on Saturday.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the latest abduction, but Sabah authorities said the gunmen fled towards Tawi-Tawi, one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region in southern Philippines.
The incident happened just as the Philippine military continues its offensive against the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu and Basilan provinces, also in the autonomous region.
It was not immediately known whether the militant group was involved in the abduction, but the Abu Sayyaf is still holding over a dozen hostages that included Malaysian and Indonesian tugboat crewmen, a Norwegian man, a Japanese and Filipinos.
There was no immediate statement from Philippine authorities on the latest abduction, but Mujiv Hataman, the regional governor, earlier appealed to the military and rebel forces to spare the civilians and give them safe zones where they can celebrate a national holiday in commemoration of the Eid’l Adha. (Mindanao Examiner)
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