Malaysian terror group in cahoots with Abus?

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines  – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and its counterparts in Indonesia and Malaysia will look into the participation of a Malaysian terror group in kidnappings off the coast of Sabah.

Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Western Mindanao Command chief, bared this yesterday, citing the ease of movement of the kidnappers in the waters off Sabah.

“We are investigating with our Malaysian and Indonesian counterparts, as signatories of a trilateral security agreement,” Sobejana said.

He said a local Malaysian terror group could be in cahoots with Abu Sayyaf bandits.

“You cannot go to an area if you do not have local contacts. We presume there are locals on Tambisan Island and parts of Sabah who are with the group behind the kidnappings,” Sobejana said.

“What we see here is the gap on the other side because they can get victims freely,” he added. 

Sobejana stressed the need to develop a tactical level of coordination between the AFP as well as the Malaysian and Indonesian military at the common border of the three countries.

He said Malaysia should deploy more security forces in the areas being used as staging points by the kidnappers.

Sobejana cited the waters off Tambisan Island in Lahad Datu, Sabah, where five Indonesian fishermen were kidnapped last week.

The AFP confirmed that Abu Sayyaf bandits were behind the latest kidnapping.