ZAMBOANGA CITY – Unidentified men snatched a 10-year old Muslim boy in Sulu’s capital town of Jolo in southern Philippines, security officials said Friday.
Officials said the boy, Zaire Khan Pasil, was heading to Notre Dame school with two other companions in their jeep, when 6 men on three motorcycles blocked their path and seized the victim.
“Zaire Khan Pasil…resident of Sheik Mustafa Subdivision in Upper San Raymundo in Jolo was forcibly taken by six individuals riding tandem onboard three motorcycles along Latih-Jolo Road.”
“Victim along with Aldasir Tallow, driver, and Fatima Zaima Pasil, 13- years old, were on their way to Notre Dame Elementary School onboard an owner-type jeep from their residence when the incident transpired. Motive of the kidnapping is yet to be determined,” said Lt. Col. Gerry Besana, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the abduction, but previous ransom kidnapping cases had been largely blamed on Abu Sayyaf militants. It was unclear why policemen and soldiers manning checkpoints in Jolo failed to prevent the abduction.
The militant group, linked by authorities to ISIS, is still holding several Filipino and foreign hostages in the troubled region. (Mindanao Examiner)
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