Sayyaf eyed in kidnap of 22 from Sabah isle

Filipino Muslim extremist rebels are suspected of being behind the abduction of up to 22 people including foreign tourists at a Malaysian resort, a Philippine military spokesman said yesterday.

"We are not discounting the possible involvement of Abu Sayyaf rebels," Col. Ernesto de Guzman of the Southern Command said.

De Guzman said the Philippine Navy dispatched two gunboats close to Malaysian waters.

The decision was made after Malaysian authorities informed the Philippine military that the kidnappers and their captives were possibly en route to Philippine waters.

Sipadan island, where the hostages are said to be held, is just a 45-minute boat journey from Mindanao.

"We have dispatched two patrol gunboats to verify or intercept outriggers bearing the hostages if they are heading toward Philippine waters," De Guzman said.

The military is not discounting the possible involvement of local pirates and lawless groups of other nationalities, he said.

Malaysian authorities, however, said the abduction was undertaken "by five or six Tausug-speaking Filipinos."

Tausug is one of three major dialects spoken by the Muslim population in Mindanao.

President Estrada gave the order for the Philippine Air Force and the Navy to help Malaysia track down the kidnapping gang.

The President ordered the military to extend "full cooperation to head off" the kidnappers and any possible escape into Philippine waters, Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Puno said.

Puno said the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur had received a formal request for assistance from the Malaysian police.

"We seek your kind assistance to trace the victims and rescue the victims," Puno quoted the official request as saying.

He noted, however, that it was too early too make conclusions on the identity of the abductors.

"The pirates may be Tausug-speaking but they are not necessarily Filipinos because there are a lot of Tausug-speaking people in neighboring countries," he added.

Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said the Philippine and Malaysian authorities would be coordinating the hostage rescue.

He said if it is proven that the Abu Sayyaf were involved, it could be a "diversionary tactic" to ease pressure from their main camp in Basilan which is under heavy military siege.

The government mounted an air and ground assault on the Abu Sayyaf last Saturday after month-long talks for the freedom of at least 27 hostages held by the rebels failed.

Mercado, however, stressed "we are not making any conclusions on the identities of the abductors until we have all the facts."

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said a

police and military team had been sent to the area to rescue the captives.

"Freeing them is our priority," Abdullah said. "I think the Philippine government can help in this matter."

Malaysian police said five to six gunmen in military camouflage uniforms and armed with M-16 and M-79 rifles landed by boat on Sipadan island last Sunday, and forced themselves into the resort.

Sipadan island is a world-renowned diving spot about 30 kilometers off the coast of Malaysia's Sabah state.

A Sabah tour operator said that he received a call at 8 p.m. Sunday from the owner of the Pulau Sipadan Resort saying that armed men had walked into the dining hall and rounded up the hostages. The tour operator said the hostages were marched off to a 30-foot wooden fishing boat and immediately put out to sea.

He said they did not attempt to take any valuables from the dining hall and did not state their purpose.

Police officials in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, said two Americans had escaped and were believed to still be in Sabah.

They said five Germans, two French and three Italians were among those kidnapped. Others were four Malaysian wild life rangers, a Chinese diving instructor, and four staff members of the resort, including a Filipino woman.

This could not be immediately confirmed, but Philippine authorities gave a different breakdown of the hostages.

Mercado told CNN there were 21 hostages, including two French, three Germans, two South Africans, one Lebanese, two Finns and two Filipinos. The remaining captives were Malaysians.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) went on alert yesterday for the possible entry of the heavily armed men who snatched 22 people from a Malaysian resort.

Deputy Director General Reynaldo Wycoco, PNP deputy chief for administration, said elements of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao Police Office and the Western Mindanao regional police offices were keeping a tight watch for the entry of the kidnappers and their captives into Philippine waters. --