Abu Sayyaf suspect nabbed in Jolo

ZAMBOANGA CITY (AFP) – A member of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap gang implicated in the 2000 abduction of Western tourists from a Malaysian resort, was captured in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, the military said yesterday.

Javier Soriano, also known as "Commander Jojo Rasul," was arrested Tuesday and is in custody at a Marine base in Jolo, said anti-terror task force chief Brig. Gen. Agustin Demaala.

"Rasul is currently being interrogated and our operation against the Abu Sayyaf will not stop," he said.

Soriano is included in the military’s "order of battle" list and is among 39 Abu Sayyaf leaders charged in connection with the kidnapping in April 2000 of 21 tourists and employees from resorts in the Malaysian island of Sipadan.

Most of the hostages were subsequently ransomed off.

The suspect, who has a $2,700 bounty on this head, is believed to be an aide to Abu Sayyaf senior leader Ghalib Andang, whose faction led the Sipadan raid. Andang was captured last year and is now in military custody.

The Abu Sayyaf is considered a terrorist organization by the Philippine and US governments.

It is believed to have had links with al-Qaeda when it was founded by Afghan-trained Islamic firebrand, Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani, who was killed in a gunbattle with police in 1998.

The military says the movement has since turned into a criminal gang, specializing in kidnappings and killings of both foreign and local missionaries and businessmen.

A year after the Sipadan incident, the rebels raided another resort and kidnapped nearly two dozen hostages, including three Americans. Two of the Americans later died, while the third was rescued after more than a year in captivity. — With Roel Pareño