RI sailor held hostage in RP freed
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After six months being held hostage by Philippine Islamic militants, Indonesian sailor Ahmad Resmiyadi was finally released on Sunday.
Ferry Adamhar of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the release, but declined to provide details. He was quoted by news portal detik.com as saying that Ahmad was scheduled to arrive in Jakarta late on Monday and would be reunited with his family.
Other officials of the ministry could not be reached for comment.
Ahmad was one of the three Indonesian seamen kidnapped late in March by a Philippine militant group calling itself the Jamiat al Islamiah of Southern Mindanao after their Malaysian-flagged boat was attacked off Malaysia's Sabah region.
Philippine troops in June managed to free two hostages, Yamin Labaso and Erikson Hutagaol, after troops clashed with the kidnappers on the southern Philippine island of Jolo, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group of Islamic militants, which in turn has been linked by the United States and Philippine governments to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
The Abu Sayyaf has been on the run from Filipino troops in the southern Philippines since 2000, when they made international headlines after abducting and holding for ransom dozens of European hostages.
Apart from kidnappings, the Abu Sayyaf is also blamed for the Philippines' worst terrorist bombings, including a firebomb on a ferry that killed more than 100 people in Manila Bay last year.
It is not clear whether money was paid to the kidnappers for the release of Ahmad, with the militants reportedly demanding a US$790,000 ransom.
Security analysts have said that while the Abu Sayyaf may be on the run, it could also be building links with foreign militants from the Jamaah Islamiyah regional terror network who have sought refuge in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao.
AP reported last week that Muslim militants in the Abu Sayyaf group and their Indonesian allies have been trying to solicit money from unidentified Middle Eastern financiers to buy weapons and fund new terror attacks, according to government reports.
Details of the fund-raising effort and planned attacks were obtained by Philippine security officials from their Indonesian counterparts, who recently captured two suspected militants with knowledge of Filipino rebel activities, the reports said.
Such continuing collaboration indicates ongoing operational ties between militants in the Philippines and Indonesia, despite years of counter-terror crackdowns in the two neighboring countries.