Philippine police arrest Abu Sayyaf militant
Abu Sayyaf group is known for its widespread kidnapping
Philippine authorities have arrested a suspect Haik Asgali, a Muslim militant accused of kidnapping two Europeans last year.
Police spokesman Reuben Theodore Sindac said Thursday that the suspect was arrested in Sulu province in a joint police and military operation.
Asgali and his accomplices kidnapped Dutch Ewold Horn and Swiss Lorenzo Vinciguerra while they were on a bird-watching trip in southern Tawi Tawi province in Feb. 2012, said Sindac.
The militants from the Abu Sayyaf group are holding for ransom more than a dozen captives. U.S.-backed military offensives have crippled the group in recent years but it remains a key security threat.
The same group kidnapped Al Arabiya’s correspondent Baker Atyani.
Sindac says Asgali is a trusted operative of Abu Sayyaf leader Radullan Sahiron, one of the most wanted terrorist suspects in the country.
Also Read
-
Al Arabiya’s Baker Atyani ready to leave the Philippines
Baker Atyani said he was not abused by his Abu Sayyaf captors while spending 18 months in captivity Television & Radio -
Al Arabiya’s Baker Atyani on Philippines kidnap ordeal
Baker Atyani, the Al Arabiya correspondent held captive in the Philippines for 18 months, today described the daily “mental torture” of ... Reports -
Third broadcaster shot dead in Philippines in two weeks
Police suspect that the broadcaster’s killing is possibly “because of his profession” but can be politically motivated Television & Radio -
Al Arabiya’s Baker Atyani freed
Baker Atyani, a veteran Middle Eastern TV reporter who had interviewed Osama bin Laden, was kidnapped in the Philippines in June 2012 Television & Radio
