2 suspected Abu Sayyaf militants bolt Basilan jail

MANILA, Philippines - Two suspected members of the bandit group Abu Sayyaf who allegedly took part in the beheading of government troops in 2007 have escaped from the provincial jail in Basilan province. Reports reaching the Philippine National Headquarters in Camp Crame indicated that the two suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits escaped the Basilan Provincial Jail Wednesday morning. A radio report said local authorities identified the two as Gerardin Majakil and Ramil Sulayman. Police said the pair and eight others prisoners were being taken for a walk in the sun outside their prison cells when they overpowered their guards and snatched their weapons. Though hurt in the brawl, jail guards were able to take back their weapons and eventually pacify eight prisoners, save for the two men. Police said Majakil and Sulayman were involved in the beheading of nine Marines in Al-Barka town in July last year. The night before the jailbreak, the province was rocked with a grenade explosion, where 21 people emerged hurt. The explosive device was reportedly lobbed by a pair of unidentified men, believed to be Abu Sayyaf bandits, riding a motorcycle in tandem outside a fast food chain in Isabela City. The Abu Sayyaf, being held responsible for a number of bombings and kidnap-for-ransom incidents, is linked to the al-Qaeda and its regional arm Jemaah Islamiyah. - Mark Meruenas, GMANews.TV