Abu leader linked to Samal kidnapping nabbed in hospital

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A suspected Abu Sayyaf leader allegedly involved in the 2015 kidnapping on Samal Island in Davao del Norte province was arrested while undergoing treatment at a hospital here, the military said on Tuesday.

Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command, said Hairulla Asbang, also known as Ahadi, was wounded during a clash with soldiers in Patikul town in Sulu province and was taken by his relatives here for treatment.

When authorities confirmed that he was indeed the bandit leader, Tan said a police and military team, armed with a court warrant, was sent to the hospital to arrest Asbang on Monday.

Also arrested was a person identified only as Jaber, who was accompanying Asbang, he said.

Foreign hostages

Tan said Asbang was involved in the kidnapping of Canadians John Ridsdel and Robert Hall, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad and Filipino Maritess Flor, from a marina on Samal Island in September 2015.

Ridsdel and Hall were beheaded in separate occasions while Sekkingstad and Flor were released by the bandits.

Tan said Asbang faces kidnapping with murder charges in the Regional Trial Court Branch 10 in Dipolog City and similar charges in a court in Samal. –JULIE ALIPALA