Sayyaf divides 19 captives into 5 groups

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The Abu Sayyaf has separated its Indonesian and Vietnamese hostages to better elude government troops conducting rescue operations, an official said yesterday.

Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., Western Mindanao Command chief, said the bandits divided their seven Indonesian captives into three groups and 12 Vietnamese into two.

Galvez said information provided by civilians helped them locate an area in Barangay Laos in Talipao, Sulu, where the bandits are believed to be hiding their Indonesian hostages. An encounter  in the area on Sunday left 10 bandits dead and 32 soldiers wounded.

“We are happy that civilians and local government units provided us with good information. We’re happy they heeded the advice of the President,” Galvez said.

However, he said they do not know where the bandits are hiding the Vietnamese captives.

“We are trying to determine their location either in Tawi-Tawi or Basilan,” he said.

A Dutch man and eight Filipinos are among the 28 remaining hostages of the Abu Sayyaf.