By Oliver Teves Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Gunmen abducted two Canadians, including a former mining company executive, a Filipino woman and the Norwegian marina manager at an upscale resort complex on a southern Philippine island, sparking an air and sea search by authorities, officials said Tuesday. At least 11 men armed with pistols […]
Head of Filipino sultanate that invaded Malaysian state dies
By Jim Gomez Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The leader of a sultanate in the southern Philippines that staged a 2013 invasion of a bustling Malaysian state and sparked a deadly security crisis has died of kidney failure, his family and followers said Sunday. Sultan Esmail Kiram II died at age 76 late Saturday, […]
Swiss hostage escapes from Filipino extremists
By Jim Gomez Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Swiss hostage made a dramatic escape Saturday from Abu Sayyaf extremists when he hacked a rebel commander and then got shot as he dashed to freedom amid a military bombardment, ending more than two years of jungle captivity in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Philippine militants free 2 kidnapped Germans
By Oliver Teves Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Two Germans freed after being held for six months in the southern Philippines by a militant group that threatened to behead one of them if ransom was not paid were flown to Manila on Saturday under the care of their embassy, a Philippine military spokesman said.
Al-Qaida-linked militants free 2 Filipino hostages
By Jim Gomez The Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Abu Sayyaf gunmen have freed two Filipino members of a Jordanian TV journalist’s crew who were kidnapped by the al-Qaida-linked militants last year, as they set out to interview the extremists in their jungle lairs in the southern Philippines, police said Sunday, Jan. 31.
4 Philippine marines killed in clash
By Jim Gomez The Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine marines who were searching for long-held hostages battled al-Qaida-linked militants in a fierce clash that killed four marines and at least two insurgents in the country’s south, officials said. The fighting erupted in the mountainous hinterlands of Patikul town in Sulu province, where the Abu Sayyaf […]
Officials: Philippines has 1.1M illegal firearms
By Jim Gomez The Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines needs tougher laws to deal with the more than 1 million illegal firearms in the country, some of which may have been smuggled in from Afghanistan for use by Muslim guerrillas, officials said Monday, May 18.