ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 15, 2012) – Philippine troops searching for a kidnapped Australian adventurer clashed with Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern province of Basilan, officials said.
Officials said the fighting erupted in the town of Sumisip, an area where Warren Rodwell, 52, is believed being held captive by the al-Qaeda-linked terror group blamed for the spate of kidnappings-for-ransom and attacks in the troubled region.
Rodwell was kidnapped by five gunmen disguised as policemen in December from his home in the seaside town of Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay province and brought by boat to Basilan.
There were no reports of casualties in the 20-minute fighting, but troops recovered bomb materials, binocular and a motorcycle left behind by fleeing Abu Sayyaf gunmen led by Ustadz Muads, an expert bomber maker, according to Army Colonel Ricardo Visaya, commander of military forces in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
“There is an ongoing operation against the Abu Sayyaf and we are tracking down the terrorists,” Visaya told the Mindanao Examiner by phone from Basilan.
Rodwell’s fate is still unknown, but the kidnappers demanded $2 million ransom from his Filipino wife Miraflor Gutang, 27, but the woman said they cannot afford to pay. Both the Philippines and Australia also rejected the ransom demand.
The former Australian army soldier married the Filipina only in June last year in Ipil town.
It was not immediately known whether the militants are among those holding the foreigner, but the military commander said the gang was also tagged as behind attacks on construction sites in the province, just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City.
The governor of Zamboanga Sibugay, Rommel Jalosjos, who is said to be negotiating with the kidnappers for Rodwell’s freedom, has imposed a news blackout.
Military authorities said Rodwell is being held by the group of a notorious terrorist commander Puruji Indama, who is also blamed for the July 2011 kidnappings of a US woman and her son, including a Filipino nephew, in Zamboanga City. They were freed separately last year after Lunsmann’s husband paid a huge ransom to the kidnappers.
Abu Sayyaf militants are still holding a kidnapped Japanese man, an Indian national and two Malaysians and several Filipinos in southern Philippines.
Rodwell, a prolific world traveler and English teacher in China, has appealed for his safe release in a video sent by his captors to his wife in December. “To my family please do whatever to raise the two million US dollars they are asking for my release as soon as possible. To the government, to the Filipino government especially the government of Zamboanga Sibugay, Rommel, I’m appealing to you please help me to coordinate with my family to raise to whatever money is being asked.”
“To the Australian embassy here in the Philippines, this is your constituent appealing for his life and safety. Please help facilitate to give the group the demand. Yes, I was former army of my country but it is differently particularly the terrain. The only solution to ensure my safety is to go with whatever they need. If I’m given my last wish, my last wish is to please help me out of here alive please Madame Ambassador,” the distressed Rodwell said. (Mindanao Examiner)
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