'Gunmen belonged to Abu Sayyaf'
Published on: Sunday, December 11, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: The Western Mindanao Command (WMC) on Saturday confirmed that the three gunmen shot dead by Sabah security forces in Lahad Datu on Thursday were indeed members of the notorious Abu Sayyaf Group, one of whom headed the Samal Island raid that led to the kidnapping of three foreign nationals and a Filipina in September 2015."Per validation made by this Command, the shootout resulted in the killing of Abraham Hamid, leader of the Samal kidnapping incident, and two of his cohorts," WMC spokesperson Maj. Filemon Tan said.Two more Abu Sayyaf bandits were captured in the encounter by Sabah security forces.
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They were identified as Samsung Aljan and Awal Hajal, while two others are being pursued.Hamid, an ASG spotter, was identified as the leader of the Abu Sayyaf members involved in the kidnapping of Robert Hall, John Ridsdel, Kjartan Sekkingstad and Maritess Flor on Sept. 21, 2015 at the Ocean View Resort in Camudmud, Samal City, Davao del Sur.He was also tagged in the kidnapping of four Indonesian crew members of tugboat Henry.The Canadians Hall, 50, and Ridsdel, 68, were beheaded in April and June 2016.
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Filipina Maritess Flor, 40, was released in June, while Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad was freed in September after ransom was paid.Major Tan tagged Hamid as a "spotter" who commanded a unit that prowled the porous borders separating Sabah and Sulu looking for victims that they would then hand over to bigger groups in the Abu Sayyaf's jungle strongholds in Sulu and Basilan islands.
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Hamid's group, using a blue, twin-engine, 80-horsepower speedboat, had pounced on two fishing trawlers on Thursday evening, taking one hostage from each boat.They then approached a third unmarked vessel that turned out to be filled with policemen from Tiger Platoon.The Abu Sayyaf still has as captives German sailor Jurgen Kantner, a Dutch, five Malaysians, two Indonesians, six Vietnamese, and seven Filipinos. "They said Abu Sayyaf members were prevented by security forces in Sabah from executing their kidnapping plans by engaging them in a surprise shootout. The speedboat used by the Abu Sayyaf members was sunk during the fight," Tan added.Hamid's death is a big blow to the ASG as his demise has degraded their capability for spotting, he said. Earlier, State Police Commissioner Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun said the police had yet to identify the group but believed they had entered Sabah via the international border."We are still interrogating the two gunmen who were arrested and they are being investigated under Section 6 of the Firearm Act for possessing guns and Section 365 of the Penal Code for kidnapping."Another two gunmen in their 30s and a hostage went missing during the shootout and we are still searching for them, while three of the seven gunmen were killed and another two were arrested," he said, after closing the Ex-Rampas training and workshop 2016 at the State police headquarters, Saturday. He said the Philippine enforcement authorities have been informed about the incident and Sabah police are working closely with them to address the case.On a rumours of revenge attacks, Abdul Rashid said he has yet to receive such information but advised the public not to simply listen to speculations and claims that have yet to be verified by the authorities.To a question, Abdul Rashid assured that the security forces are always ready and vigilant to face security threats in Sabah waters.However, he emphasised the importance of the public especially local communities and fishermen to have high awareness in giving full support and working closely with the security forces safeguarding and protecting the nation's sovereignty from intrusions.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"It would be a difficult task for the security forces teams to discharge their duties and tasks well in protecting the 1,733.3 kilometre coastline from Kudat to Tawau and 361 islands and reefs if there is no support from the local communities."Any security planning would also be meaningless if there is no such full cooperation from the public to us (the security forces)," he said.