Azhar urges Abu Sayyaf to free Arabiya reporter
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the top religious authority for Sunni Muslims, on Wednesday urged Islamist extremists in the Philippines to free a reporter with Al-Arabiya news channel seized in June.
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the top religious authority for Sunni Muslims, on Wednesday urged Islamist extremists in the Philippines to free a reporter with Al-Arabiya news channel seized in June.
Interior Secretary Jesse M. Robredo on Saturday confirmed that veteran TV journalist Baker Atyani of Al Arabiya and his two Filipino cameramen were being held hostage somewhere in the jungles of Sulu by suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf.
The local government in Sulu is on top of the situation in connection with the reported disappearance of an Arab television journalist in a known hideout of terrorists but Malacañang is closely watching developments in the case, a Palace spokesperson said Saturday.
A veteran Middle Eastern TV reporter who had interviewed Osama bin Laden months before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has disappeared with his two Manila-based crewmen while on a reporting trip on Jolo island, officials said on Friday.
