Key Abu Sayyaf militant was among the three killed in shoot-out in Sabah

MANILA: Malaysian security forces have killed a key member of a Philippine Islamist militant group in a shoot-out in waters off Sabah, the Philippine military said yesterday.

Abu Sayyaf leader Abraham Hamid had led the kidnapping of several foreigners from a tourist resort in the volatile southern Philippines last year, two of whom were later beheaded.

“The death of Hamid is a big blow to the (Abu Sayyaf) as it neutralised one of the notorious bandits and will degrade their capability for spotting and kidnapping victims in the future,” said regional military spokesman Major Filemon Tan.

Two other militants were killed alongside Hamid in the shoot-out with Malaysian police in Lahad Datu in eastern Sabah, he said.

The Abu Sayyaf beheaded two Canadian hostages after demands for millions of dollars were not met, but released two others, a Norwegian and Filipina, after ransoms were believed to be paid.

Tan said Hamid had also been involved in the kidnapping of four Indonesian crewmen in April.

There had been a spate of kidnappings of Malaysian and Indonesian sailors at sea in recent months that have been blamed on the Abu Sayyaf.

While Hamid and two militants were killed, Sabah security forces have arrested two others, Tan added.

Sabah police chief Abdul Rashid Harun told AFP the incident was the Malaysian authorities’ first direct confrontation with suspected kidnappers in the waters off eastern Sabah.

On his blog, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak praised his security forces and said Kuala Lumpur and Manila would cooperate to fight the recurring kidnappings.

The Abu Sayyaf, a loose network of militants based on remote islands in the southern Philippines, has defied more than a decade of military offensives.

The group was formed in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network, but has been on a lucrative kidnapping spree in recent years.— AFP

KOTA KINABALU: The security forces are ready to face any threats of retaliation from the armed group involved in Thursday night’s robbery and shootout with Malaysian security forces off Semporna.

“Our security forces comprising various agencies including the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) are always on the alert and are prepared to face any possibilities,” said Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun.

“But we have not received any such information yet,” he said after closing the six-day Ex-Rampas training course here yesterday.

However, he reminded the public not to believe rumours claiming that kidnappers from southern Philippines would likely make a counter-attack after the robbery and shootout incident which saw three of the seven armed criminals shot dead, while two other members were arrested.

In the incident on Thursday between 9pm and 10pm, a brazen kidnapping and robbing spree by seven foreign gunmen ended in a face-off with the police elite outfit Tiger Platoon off Pulau Gaya in Semporna.

The gunmen, who had earlier kidnapped two fishermen in three robberies, were suspected to have headed towards a fishing boat to rob and probably kidnap another victim when they realised that they were up against the General Operations Forces elite squad.

Three of them were killed, two captured and another two missing at sea after their twin-engine 80HP speedboat capsized.

Police rescued the skipper of a trawler who was unhurt but the second trawler crew member was still missing.

A lance corporal from the platoon injured when a bullet hit him in the calf during the encounter.

Abdul Rashid said initial investigations showed that the criminals came from outside the Malaysian borders and were believed to have entered Sabah through the international waters.

“We are still trying to get more information,” he said, adding that the police were working closely on the case with their counterparts in the Philippines.

He added that two gunmen, in their early 30s, were still being held in custory for further interrogation.

“We have yet to identify the armed group behind the incident and are still getting more information from the duo to assist in our investigation.”

Abdul Rasid said police were still tracking down the two suspects and a kidnap victim and extended the search areas in the open sea of up to 80 metres depth.

“The search team also coordinated with Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) led by ESSCom Commander Datuk Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid.

“We are also assisted by other security agencies to mobilize all the assets and capabilities that we have,” he added.