Suspected Sayyaf man in kidnapping of priest captured

Abu Sayyaf group. AP FILE PHOTO

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — One of the kidnappers of Father Cirilo Nacorda was arrested in Maluso, Basilan on Sunday night, the military said Monday.

Capt. Ma. Rowena Muyuela, spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command, said Imam Bakkal, alias Hadji Abubakar Bakkang, was captured in a combined military and police operation at around 9 p.m. Sunday.

Meanwhile, Senior Superintendent Wilben Mayor, the National Police spokesman, said Imam Bakkal was arrested along the town’s coastal area.

Bakkal had a standing warrant of arrest for kidnapping Nacorda on June 8, 1994, Muyuela said.

Nacorda, then the parish priest of Isabela, was abducted with 58 others on June 8, 1994. Fifteen of Nacorda’s companions were shot dead by their Abu Sayyaf captors. The others were kept hostage and were released only after money was paid to the kidnappers. Nacorda was freed after 61 days of captivity.

Bakkal was also allegedly involved in the ambush on Marine soldiers in Al Barkah town in 2007 where 14 government troops were killed. Of the 14 killed, 10 were recovered with severed heads.

The PNP said the suspect is now under the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU). With a report from Nestor Corrales, INQUIRER.net

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