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.