ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - The military has launched search operations in Tawi-Tawi and Sulu to confirm reports that four Malaysian sailors were abducted by suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen off Sempornah, Sabah on Friday night and may have been brought there.
“We confirm receiving reports of this incident but information remains sketchy at the moment and efforts are being exerted to ascertain all details on the incident,” Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom), said.
According to reports from Malaysian authorities, eight armed men on a speedboat intercepted the Malaysian-registered M/V Masfive 6 as it was steaming off Pulau Ligitan about 6 p.m. on Friday.
The gunmen reportedly hauled off four Malaysians from the nine-man crew and loaded them into their speedboat. The other members of the crew -- three Myanmar nationals and two Indonesians -- were left unharmed and the kidnappers sped off in the direction of the Philippine border in the south.
The reported abduction of the four Malaysians came just a week since armed men tagged as Abu Sayyaf members seized 10 Indonesian sailors from a tugboat. The captives were reportedly brought to Sulu.
Tan said government forces in Tawi-Tawi and Sulu have been alerted and an operation has been launched in response to the reported abduction. He said the military has coordinated with counterparts in Malaysia.
“But details of which we are not at liberty to divulge,” he added.
Last September, members of the Abu Sayyaf abducted four foreigners and a Filipina from a resort in Samal Island. In a video released in March, armed men showed the captives and demanded a ransom of P1 billion for each of the four foreigners they hold captive. They gave the families of the victims, and their respective governments, until April 8 to pay the ransom.