Sayyaf leader involved in 2001 kidnap nabbed

ZAMBOANGA CITY — A ranking Abu Sayyaf leader wanted by the US and Philippine governments for the kidnapping of three Americans and for his involvement in the siege of Lamitan town in Basilan in 2001 has been captured, the military said yesterday.

Aminula Jimlani, who carried a P1-million bounty on his head, was among the Abu Sayyaf bandits who seized three Americans and 17 local tourists and beach resort personnel in Palawan in 2001.

Western Mindanao police chief Director Vidal Querol said Jimlani was surprised by military and police intelligence agents at a safe house in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay province after being tipped off by an informant.

Jimlani, alias Abu Usman, also was allegedly involved in the attack on Ipil town in Zamboanga del Sur in 1994 in which 53 people were killed and the entire town plaza burned down.

Querol said the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has offered a reward for the capture of Jimlani, who is wanted for charges of murder and kidnapping.

"Jimlani is (also) a ranking member and a close associate of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffi Janjalani," Querol added.

Army spokesman Maj. Bartolome Bacarro said Jimlani is wanted for the kidnapping of Americans Guillermo Sobero and missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and several other Filipino tourists from a plush resort in Palawan.

Sobero was beheaded a month after he was abducted, while Martin Burnham was killed during a bloody rescue attempt over a year later. Gracia Burnham has since been reunited with the couple’s children in the United States.

The Abu Sayyaf is a small gang of Islamic militants blamed for a series of kidnappings and deadly attacks in recent years.

Authorities believe the group maintains loose links with foreign militant groups, including Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terror network.

The government has blamed the bandit group for the spate of terror attacks, including the bomb blast aboard the SuperFerry 14 that killed over 100 people last February. — Roel Pareño, AFP