Hataman: Abu Sayyaf beheaded captives for vengeance
July 5, 2017 | 11:15am
The bodies of Hoang Trung Thong and Hoang Va Hai were dumped along a farm-to-market road in Limbotulan area in Sumisip town in Basilan by their captors. Google Earth
COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The decapitation by the Abu Sayyaf of two Vietnamese Wednesday in Basilan was triggered by the surrender of 112 local militants in recent months, officials said.
The beheaded bodies of Hoang Trung Thong and Hoang Va Hai were dumped along a farm-to-market road in Limbotulan area in Sumisip town in Basilan by their captors.
Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on Wednesday condemned the brutal beheadings.
The victims were both crew members of the Vietnamese cargo vessel M/V Royal 16 that gunmen attacked about four months ago while cruising at the sea borders of Sulu and Basilan.
A compatriot snatched along with them managed to escape from the Abu Sayyaf’s lair in Sampinit Complex in Basilan more than two weeks ago.
“We in the ARMM government condemn the brutal decapitation of these two foreigners. It was done by people that do not have religion,” Hataman, who has been working with Muslim religious scholars to combat extremism and terrorism, said.
Sources in Basilan said the foreigners were beheaded after their employer and families failed to pay ransom.
Hataman said he is certain the execution was a vengeful act, meant to create the impression that the Abu Sayyaf still exists in Basilan after more than a hundred members in the island province surrendered in the past 14 months to local officials.
Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, Jr. of the Western Mindanao Command said they are anticipating attacks to avenge the deaths of members killed in encounters with soldiers in Marawi City.
“It is a known fact that these people retaliate on non-military targets whenever they suffer heavy losses in encounters with our units in the field,” Galvez said.
More than a hundred Abu Sayyaf gunmen led by Isnilon Hapilon laid siege, along with Maute terrorists, to several barangays in Marawi City on May 23, sparking hostilities that have since dragged on.
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