Abu Sayyaf deny involvement in Indonesian abductions

Abu Sayyaf deny involvement in Indonesian abductions

Agencies
Zamboanga, Philippines

Abu Sayyaf gunmen fleeing a major Philippine military offensive
have sent word that they had nothing to do with the abduction of
three Indonesian seamen, an official of another Muslim rebel
group said on Monday.

Abu Sayyaf leader Radulan Sahiron told the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) that they were not responsible for last
month's kidnappings and would not hold the Indonesians on behalf
of another kidnap gang, MILF regional chief Ustadz Shariff
Julabbi said.

Military officials say Muntu Jacobus Winowatan, Pieter Lerrich
and Zulkifli are being held by a small band of bandits, headed by
Malud Mahili near the Jolo town of Luuk.

However, they were not ruling out the possibility that the
gang would barter their captives to the Abu Sayyaf for cash or
weapons, or both.

"There are efforts to secure the freedom of the hostages and
the Abu Sayyaf has promised to hand over the Indonesians to me,"
said Julabbi, whose group is in peace talks with the Philippine
government.

Three Indonesian seamen have since been seized by Muslim
gunmen in another part of Jolo. They entered their third week of
captivity on Monday with no sign of being released.

local officials were negotiating for their release but the
military was prepared to attack the kidnappers' hideout in the
Luuk hills of Jolo if the talks failed.

Also on Monday, government forces using bomber planes and
helicopters attacked suspected Muslim rebel positions in the
southern Philippines, inflicting an undetermined number of
casualties, the military said.

The military said the attack on Jolo island was launched after
Abu Sayyaf guerrillas unleashed rockets at soldiers pursuing the
group, linked by the United States to the al Qaeda network of
Osama bin Laden.

Government forces have been tracking a band of about 150
suspected Abu Sayyaf since last Friday after overrunning four
guerrilla camps in the jungle-clad island regarded as an Abu
Sayyaf stronghold.

The U.S. has deployed about 1,000 troops in the southern
Philippines to train Filipino soldiers in counter terrorism to
combat the Abu Sayyaf, which has waged a decade-long violent
campaign in the name of creating a separate Muslim homeland in
the south of the predominantly Catholic country.

No Americans were involved in the latest fighting.