The capability of Abu Sayyaf Group to raise terror remains a concern of the United States even as it claimed that the situation in Mindanao has “progressed” over time.
Abu Sayyaf gunmen have freed two Filipino members of a Jordanian TV journalist’s crew believed to have been kidnapped by the al-Qaida-linked militants in June last year as they set out to interview the extremists in their jungle lairs in the southern Philippines, police said Sunday.
Bloodstains were found outside the home of an Australian national who was abducted by gunmen on Monday in Barangay (village) Upper Pangi, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay, police said.
Ozamiz City, Philippines — A 2005 cable from the US Embassy in Manila recently released by WikiLeaks showed the rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) cooperating with government in validating identities of suspected terrorists. During that time, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) provided the MILF with a “high priority” list of 53 [...]
Stressing that “no one should doubt the United States’ commitment to the Philippines,” US Ambassador to Manila Harry Thomas Jr. reaffirmed Washington’s pledge to help enhance the country’s security capability.
