Philippine troops arrest leader of Abu Sayyaf group<\/p>\n
MANILA (Agencies): Philippine troops have arrested a senior
\nofficer of the Abu Sayyaf, the Muslim rebel group holding U.S.
\nand Filipino hostages in the south of the country, government
\nofficials said on Monday.<\/p>\n
The military presented at a news conference a handcuffed
\nNadzmi Sabdulla, alias Commander Global, or Al Shariff, who they
\nsaid was arrested on Sunday with three other Abu Sayyaf members
\nin the southern city of General Santos.<\/p>\n
\"The capture of Commander Global...is a great setback for the
\nASG (Abu Sayyaf) group,\" army chief Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos
\ntold a news conference.<\/p>\n
\"I think with this capture, we expect to get further
\ninformation on their operations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The 40-year old Sabdulla, who bowed his head throughout the
\nnews conference carried live on national television, is the
\nhighest-ranking Abu Sayyaf member ever arrested.<\/p>\n
Sabdulla's faction is different from the group which abducted
\n17 Filipinos and three Americans from a tourist resort off
\nPalawan island on May 27 and took them to Basilan island.<\/p>\n
The gunmen have freed most of their captives, after payment of
\nransoms, but took more Filipino hostages on Basilan. They have
\nalso beheaded four of their Filipino captives and claim to have
\nbeheaded one of the American tourists.<\/p>\n
Planner<\/p>\n
Military officers described Sabdulla as the brains of the Abu
\nSayyaf group.<\/p>\n
\"He plans everything for the Abu Sayyaf. The other commanders
\nof the group are executioners of his plan,\" Lt. Col. Danilo
\nServando, spokesman of the military in the southern Philippines,
\ntold reporters in Zamboanga City.<\/p>\n
Sabdulla was one of the commanders on Jolo island involved in
\nthe abduction last year of 21 people, including several Western
\ntourists, from a Malaysian resort, a police report said.<\/p>\n
Police said Sabdulla acted as spokesman for the Abu Sayyaf
\nduring negotiations with the government under then president
\nJoseph Estrada. Most of the tourists were released after ransoms
\nof up to $1 million each were paid. Some of them escaped.<\/p>\n
On May 27, an Abu Sayyaf faction raided a beach resort off the
\nwestern province of Palawan and snatched 20 hostages, including
\nthree Americans. Two Americans and 19 Filipinos, including those
\nfrom other abductions remain in the rebels' hands in the southern
\nisland of Basilan.<\/p>\n
Armed forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said Sabdulla
\ncould have been plotting to stage bombings in General Santos to
\ndivert military attention from Basilan, where four Filipino
\ncaptives have been beheaded and 13 freed after allegedly paying
\nransoms.<\/p>\n
\"We are interrogating him now about their widening operation,\"
\nAdan said.<\/p>\n
An official police report in Manila identified the other
\nsuspects as Saltima Salih, Halik Sabdani and a certain Javier
\nSampang alias Abu Kahir, all from Jolo.<\/p>\n
Adan said Sabdulla's group was involved in a foiled attempt on
\nMay 22 to abduct tourists from the Pearl Farm beach resort on
\nsouthern Samal Island.<\/p>\n
Reward<\/p>\n
Manila has offered a five million peso ($94,340) reward for
\ninformation leading to the arrest of Abu Sayyaf commanders,
\nincluding Sabdulla, and one million pesos for each member.<\/p>\n
Adan said the informant who tipped government troops off to
\nthe whereabouts of Sabdulla stood to get a five million pesos
\nreward.<\/p>\n
\"We see it as another indication that the Abu Sayyaf network
\nis being gradually, but surely dismantled. In fact, we see that
\nwe're turning the corner now in the fight against the Abu
\nSayyaf,\" presidential spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao told reporters.<\/p>\n
The Abu Sayyaf, with an estimated force of about 1,000, is one
\nof two groups demanding a Muslim homeland in the south of the
\nmainly Roman Catholic Philippines. But it does little to fight
\nfor its professed goals and appears to concentrate on kidnapping.<\/p>",
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