SULU – Security forces continue to hunt down Abu Sayyaf militants whose group is still holding over a dozen hostages, mostly sailors kidnapped off Sabah in Malaysia. Just recently, militants released the son of Labason town Mayor Eddie Quimbo, who was kidnapped last year in Zamboanga del Norte province.
Police said the 28-year Jed Quimbo was freed in Patikul town where troops have been deployed to track down the militants. Quimbo was handed over to his brother Justin, who reportedly sought assistance from local leaders to fetch the victim in Anuling village.
Quimbo was later presented to the military in Jolo town. It was unknown whether Quimbo’s family had paid ransom to the Abu Sayyaf or not. He was seized by six militants on September 6 in downtown Labason.
The Abu Sayyaf – founded in the 1990s in Basilan province – which was originally fighting for a separate Islamic state, has resorted to ransom kidnapping after its chieftain Abdurajak Janjalani was killed in a firefight with a policeman in Lamitan City in December 1998. But some of its hard core commanders pledged allegiance with the Islamic State in an effort to capitalize in the vicious and brutal campaign of the jihadists in the Middle East. (Mindanao Examiner)
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