Troops fire cannons on foes amid hostage drama in Sulu

SULU, Philippines – Philippine security forces fired about a dozen rounds of cannons toward the hinterlands of Sulu island as truckloads of soldiers were spotted at dawn Sunday leaving a military base in Jolo town. It was not yet known if the attacks targeted Abu Sayyaf members holding three people hostage or another faction of the militant group who reportedly has links to both the al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya, blamed for the spate of terrorism in southern Philippines. The sounds of the loud explosions from Howitzer cannons reverberated in Jolo, Patikul, and Indanan towns. The firing began at around 3 a.m. It was unknown if the early morning assault was a prelude to the rescue of the hostages. Later in the day, more soldiers arrived in Sulu on board the Philippine Navy ship BRP Bacolod City. Confusion? Military officials in southern Philippines have imposed a news blackout on the crisis. However, some of them are reportedly speaking to selected journalists. This forced other reporters to rely on unconfirmed information about the hostage crisis, which added confusion to the already murky issue. Militants are holding ABS-CBN broadcast journalist Cecilia Victoria "Ces" Oreña Drilon, her assistant cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion, and university professor Octavio Dinampo. The three, along with Angelo Valderama, Drilon's cameraman, were kidnapped on June 8 in Maimbung town while on their way to a secret meeting with senior Abu Sayyaf leader Radullan Sahiron. Abductors freed Valderama on June 12. Indanan town Mayor Alvarez Isnaji paid several hundred thousands of pesos to the kidnappers for Valderama’s freedom. A portion of the money “for board and lodging" reportedly came from Sulu Deputy Governor Nur Ana Sahidulla. Sahidulla is helping Isnaji secure the freedom of the remaining hostages. She appealed to the kidnappers to free Drilon's group. Gov. Sakur Tan, head of the local crisis management committee, and families of the hostages, including ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp, earlier made a similar appeal. The kidnappers were demanding as much as P50 million for the release of all the victims. The huge ransom has reportedly lured more militants to join the faction of the Abu Sayyaf group holding Drilon's group. Authorities fear that ransom paid to the Abu Sayyaf would be used to purchase weapons and fund terrorism in southern Philippines, where government security forces are also battling other Muslim and communist separatist rebels in the past four decades. Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist organization. It has offered rewards of up to $5 million for the capture Abu Sayyaf's top leaders. US troops have been deployed in Sulu province since 2006 to assist the Philippine military in defeating the militant group. Abus negotiate with Drilon's family Isnaji, the hand-picked emissary of the Abu Sayyaf faction holding the captives, said the kidnappers were also negotiating directly with Drilon's family, but he did not give details of the progress of the talks. He also said the military's firing of cannons could "is putting the lives of the victims in danger." Isnaji said the kidnappers were also alarmed by a US spy plane flying over Sulu since Saturday. "They are alarmed by this spy plane which is probably on a reconnaissance mission," he said. He said the kidnappers were getting restless over the failure of Drilon's family to resolve the crisis. He said the captors gave an ultimatum until Tuesday for the victims' families to secure the release of the hostages. "We don't know what they are up to and what they are asking from the family of Drilon, but they gave me an ultimatum until Tuesday to resolve this problem. The kidnappers wanted the family of Drilon to comply with their agreement," Isnaji said. Isnaji said he was able to talk to Drilon after her captors contacted him on his cell phone thrice on Saturday – one at 1.30 p.m., then at 5 p.m. and finally at 9 p.m. He said Drilon appealed anew to fast track the negotiations for the release of her group. "Ces Drilon keeps on telling me to fast track the talks so they can come out safely," Isnaji said, adding that Drilon's family must closely coordinate with him in their negotiations. "I need to know what the family of Drilon promised to the kidnappers. All negotiations should pass through me," he said. - GMANews.TV