June 30, 2002, The Philippine Star, 'Secret' Sayyaf hostage released,

June 30, 2002, The Philippine Star, 'Secret' Sayyaf hostage released,

ZAMBOANGA CITY (AFP) – A fisherman who was held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf kidnapping group without public knowledge was freed by his abductors in the face of a military assault, news reports and military officials said yesterday. 

The Filipino fisherman, Lydio Castro, who was seized from the Tawi-Tawi island group in November, was released in Sulu by Abu Sayyaf members under their commander, Radullan Sahiron.

His abduction was never reported and only came to light when he was freed. 

Local television station ABS-CBN said in Manila that Castro was freed by the Abu Sayyaf into the custody of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel leader Sharif Julabbi because his family could not pay any ransom. 

However, military officials insisted that he was freed because of the increased pressure caused by a military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf members in Sulu. 

Julabbi, whose rebel group has signed a ceasefire and is conducting peace talks with the government, was quoted as saying he had negotiated for the release of Castro and had turned the fisherman over to his family. 

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), meanwhile has widened its search and destroy operations against Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadafy Janjalani and his men in light of reports that the bandit leader and his men have fled to Tawi-Tawi. 

Col. Alex Aleo, commanding officer of the Basilan-based 103rd Army Brigade, told reporters that several reports reaching his command indicate that Janjalani and his men have escaped to Tawi-Tawi to evade the military operations against them in Basilan. 

Aleo added that he is now validating the intelligence reports pinpointing the whereabouts of Janjalani and his group in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi. Reports reaching Aleo said Janjalani and his men have been in Bongao since October last year. 

Other reports reaching Aleo also said another bandit leader, Jainal Antel Sali, alias Abu Solaiman, has joined Janjalani in Bongao. "Actually, the whole of Basilan is the concern of our offensive, with the towns of Maluso, Lamitan, Sumisip and Isabela City as our main objectives," he said. 

According to military intelligence reports, Abu Sayyaf commanders Isnilon Hapilon and Hamsiraji Sali and their followers are still in Basilan, while Ghalib Andang, alias Commander Robot, and his men are the subject of the Sulu manhunt. 

Military operations against the fugitive Abu Sayyaf bandits are now underway in Bongao and that the military operations in Basilan and Sulu are also still underway, Aleo added. 

Troops were continuing an offensive against the Abu Sayyaf in the islands of Jolo and Basilan but the kidnapping group has hidden itself in the mountains and bad weather hampered the manhunt, officials said. 

Defense Department spokesman retired Maj. Gen. Melchor Rosales said the group of Sahiron and Janjalani "are more or less contained in a mountainous area," near Patikul town in Jolo island and soldiers were tracking them down. 

The military overran four camps of the Abu Sayyaf on Jolo island on Friday, raising hopes that their senior leaders would soon fall.

Rosales said "his (Sahiron's) main force has retreated," rather than engage the military. 

Another military offensive is continuing on the nearby island of Basilan where Abu Sayyaf senior leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Hamsiraji Salih are being hunted in the hinterlands near the town of Lantawan. 

Aleo said fighting had ceased as "it looks like they are hiding now, Salih and Hapilon." 

Janjalani, Hapilon and Salih were among five Abu Sayyaf leaders for whom the United States offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to their capture. 

Rosales said the military could not say when the problem would be settled, remarking that much of this depends on "how good our intelligence will be." 

President Arroyo said yesterday that she sees the "impending victory" of the military against the bandits after receiving reports that two of the bandit leaders were holed up in their lairs in Patikul, Sulu. 

The Chief Executive expressed her confidence that the AFP will score "additional victories" in its continuing offensive against the Abu Sayyaf, confidence she based on the field reports of the AFP Southern Command (Southcom). 

Mrs. Arroyo also said that "with the technology of the Americans provided for us, we were able to achieve those additional victories, culminating in the victory of Sibuco Bay and, now, hopefully, an impending victory in Patikul." 

Up to a thousand US troops are in the South providing support to local soldiers in the hunt for the Abu Sayyaf who the government says have links to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States. 

However, while the Americans have provided technical assistance, they are barred from taking part in actual combat except in self-defense. 

The Abu Sayyaf has engaged in kidnapping of foreigners and Christians in the southern Philippines for years. 

Earlier this month, they lost the last of their main hostages in a battle which resulted in the death of one American and one Filipino captive and the recovery of a second American hostage. 

Three Indonesian seamen, kidnapped by another Muslim armed group on June 17, are still being held around Luuk town on Jolo, the military said. 

However Rosales said the military has pulled back to allow local officials to negotiate for their release. — With Jaime Laude, Marichu Villanueva