Police: Abu Sayyaf abducts 3 in Sulu

Three crew members of a fishing boat were abducted Sunday by suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, a police spokesman said Monday. Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr., spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP), identified the victims as Renato Panisales, boat captain; Wennie Ferrer, assistant engineer; and Jonald Ocsimar, who all worked for Mega Fishing Company. The three were on board the fishing company’s Mega 8 light boat docked in Sulu near Menes Island when an undetermined number of armed men, believed to be Abu Sayyaf members, abducted them, Cruz said. He said the kidnappers later established contact with the company “to negotiate." He did not elaborate. The victims and their captors were later monitored in Patikul town and were “highly mobile," said Cruz. Sulu is a known bailiwick of the Abu Sayyaf group, a loosely organized band of Islamic fundamentalists with links to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist network. It is blamed for a series of kidnappings in the past, including of foreign nationals. The group is also blamed for Monday’s abduction of a restaurant caretaker in Basilan province, another known stomping ground of the bandit group. - KBK, GMA News