Philippine militants linked to Al Qaeda threaten Red Cross hostage

Abu Sayyaf vows to kill one of three hostages if government troops do not withdraw from their stronghold.

By David Montero

posted March 25, 2009 at 10:00 am EST

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Al Qaeda-linked militants in the Philippines have threatened to behead a Red Cross hostage if government troops do not withdraw from their stronghold, signaling an alarming new comeback for terrorist groups in the Philippines.

The threat of beheading comes days after "[M]arine snipers ... fired at the [Abu Sayyaf] militants trying to breach a loose military cordon, sparking two days of clashes that killed three marines and up to seven guerrillas," reports the Associated Press.

The militants have given the government one week, beginning Monday (March 23), to complete the withdrawal from part of Jolo Island (also called Sulu), reports The Inquirer, a leading English-language newspaper in the Philippines.

In a telephone interview Tuesday morning, Abu Sayyaf leader Albader Parad told this reporter that the new ultimatum is for the "serious implementation of a military pull-out" on areas they indicated in their talks with Sen. Richard Gordon, namely, Santol in Patikul and Tagbak in Indanan.

The hostages, all workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) — Italian national Eugenio Vagni, Swiss national Andreas Notter and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba — were seized by the group in Jolo Island on Jan. 15. Today is their 69th day in captivity.

According to Agence France-Presse, Abu Sayyaf "is the smallest but most radical of several Islamic militant groups in the southern Philippines. It is blamed for the country's worst terrorist attacks and is on the US government's list of foreign terrorist organizations."

The Philippines' GMA News says that Abu Sayyaf is asking for two-thirds of the island of Jolo, and has given the government until March 28. But the government has categorically denied the demand.

The spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Wednesday said they will not give in to the latest demand supposedly made by the Abu Sayyaf group holding three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) workers captive in Sulu.

In an interview on dzBB radio, Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres said they will not heed the Abu Sayyaf's reported demand for a larger pullout of government troops in Sulu in exchange for the release of one of the ICRC volunteers....

Torres said they also doubt that the Abu Sayyaf will fulfill its part of the "bargain" because last week, the bandits reneged on [an] agreement to release one of the ICRC volunteers after government forces repositioned its troops in Indanan town.

This week's tense standoff and other recent attacks are reversing hopes that the Abu Sayyaf group was successfully neutralized, the Associated Press reports.

Not long ago, the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group was dismissed as all but dead, thanks to a much-heralded joint effort against terrorism by the U.S. and the Philippine military. Now there is fear that the Abu Sayyaf may be coming back....

The rebirth of Abu Sayyaf raises renewed fears of terrorism. So far, Abu Sayyaf has focused on raising money through kidnappings, but it is likely to pursue high-profile assaults to reassert its stature as a terror group, the report noted. Abu Sayyaf also has allowed foreign militants, mostly members of the regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, to make the region their home.

"As long as they are there, they can provide safe haven for Jemaah Islamiyah where they can train the next generation of bombers and terrorists. That's why they're a threat," said Col. William Coultrup, who heads the U.S. counterterrorism forces in Mindanao.

To contain the most recent standoff, the military moved to cut off supplies to Abu Sayyaf's stronghold in a bid to put pressure on the militant group, Voice of America reports.

A military spokesman said Tuesday that government troops have cut food, water and other supplies to keep pressure on the Abu Sayyaf militants. The spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Edgardo Arevalo, said soldiers are maintaining their cordon around the dense jungle area where the militants are holding the aid workers.

The Inquirer reports that as the standoff continues, a military offensive to rescue [the hostages] remains a last resort, according to Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan.

"Well, if there is really no way of getting the hostages peacefully then we'll have to resort to that," Tan said.