|
Egypt maps |
Terrorism
Groups |
Egypt
links info |
|
| |
Abu Sayyaf group |
|
| |
Abu Sayyaf, are al
Qaeda-linked Muslim extremists fighting for an independent
Islamic state in the southern Philippines.
|
|
|
|
Back
Ground Information
Abu Sayyaf, are al
Qaeda-linked Muslim extremists fighting for an independent
Islamic state in the southern Philippines.
The Abu Sayyaf Group is primarily a small, violent Muslim
terrorist group operating in the southern Philippines.
Some Abu Sayyaf leaders fought in Afghanistan during the
Soviet war and are students and proponents of radical
Islamic teachings.
After Abdurajak
Janjalani returned to the Philippines from studies in
Saudi Arabia and Libya he was determined to fulfill the
Muslim ideal of an Islamic state.
The group split from the much larger Moro National
Liberation Front in the early 1990s under the leadership
of Abdurajak Janjalani, who was killed in a clash with
Philippine police in December 1998. His younger brother,
Khadaffy Janjalani, replaced him as the nominal leader of
the group.
Deadly bombings across Southeast Asia have created a
climate of fear and mistrust in the region, prompting
Western governments to warn about the dangers of traveling
there. Intelligence agencies say Muslim separatist groups
such as Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia and Abu Sayyaf in
the Philippines have answered the call to jihad, or Holy
War, and embarked on a series of attacks targeting Western
and commercial interests in the region.
For
almost 30 years ( mid 1970's) various groups have been
engaged in an insurgency for an Islamic state, independent
of the predominantly Christian Philippines.
The Abu
Sayyaf Group engages in kidnappings for ransom, bombings,
beheadings, assassinations, and extortion. The group’s
stated goal is to promote an independent Islamic state in
western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago (areas in the
southern Philippines heavily populated by Muslims). |
 |
 |
|
Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani:
Original Leader killed
in a clash with Philippine police in 1998.
He was an associate of Ramzi Yousef (93 WTC attack)
Afterwards his younger brother Khadafi took the realm. |
Khadafi Abubakar Janjalani:
Took over Abu Sayaff and was killed in September 2006 in
exchange with Philippine Security forces.
Left behind a trail
of terror during his reign. |
|
Largely self-financing
through ransom and extortion; has received support
from Islamic extremists in the Middle East and may
receive support from regional terrorist groups. Libya
publicly paid millions of dollars for the release of
the foreign hostages seized from Malaysia in 2000 |
|
|
|
Leadership and Organization |
| |
|
Jainal Antel Sali, Jr took leadership of Abu Sayyaf
after Khadafi's Janjalani's
death late last year. Sali was killed on Jan. 16,
2007 in a skirmish with Philippine Airborne Special
Forces. Since
his death it is unclear who is leading Abu Sayyaf.
Abu
Sayyaf is estimated to have a core membership of 200 with
an extended membership of over 2000. The group's low
numbers indicate a probable lack of support among the
local population. This is not one of the larger extremist
groups but it has a lethal and very active past. The
Philippine and US forces have shattered their network. It
is a model of success in the War on Terror. Isnilon
Totoni Hapilon is the lone senior leadership that
remains alive. he is being sought by the FBI. |
|
|
Major Acts of Terrorism |
| |
|
The
group’s first large-scale action was a raid on the town of
Ipil in Mindanao in April 1995 |
|
|
| May
2001 Abu Sayyaf kidnapped twenty people, including three
Americans, at a Philippine resort and demanded ransom
payments. Abu Sayyaf guerillas armed with M-16s and
rocket launchers beached their high-speed boats on Sipadan,
Malaysia's renowned dive resort island, and abducted the
21.Abu Sayyaf beheaded one of the American captives and
held the other two Americans—a Christian missionary
couple—hostage on Basilan Island in the southern
Philippines. The Abu Sayyaf has
demanded the release of various Muslim terrorists
including Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted of
masterminding the bombing the World Trade Center in 1993. In June 2002,
U.S.-trained Philippine commandos tried to rescue the
couple and a Filipino nurse being held with them. Two of
the hostages were killed in the shootout, and one, the
American missionary Gracia Burnham, was freed |
| |
| In
August 2002, Abu Sayyaf kidnapped six Filipino Jehovah’s
Witnesses and beheaded two of them. |
| |
|
Philippine authorities say that the
ASG had a role in the bombing near a Philippine military
base in Zamboanga in October 2002 that killed a
U.S.
service member. |
| |
|
In
February 2004, Khadaffy Janjalani’s faction bombed Super
Ferry 14 in Manila Bay killing approximately 132.
On that day,
the ferry was sailing out of Manilla, with about 900
passengers and crew. A television set filled with 8 lbs of
TNT explosives had been placed on board. 90 minutes out of
port, the bomb exploded. Many on board were killed
immediately. |
| |
|
February 14, 2005, three bombings kill 12 people and
injure more than 100. The bombs go off in Davao, General
Santos, and Makati and are all claimed by the Abu Sayyaf
group. |
|
|
|
|
Abu Sayyaf
Group News, Articles and Interesting Links on the Web: |
|
Terrorist Groups In depth looks at terrorist
groups |
Int'l group for media safety welcomes release of Drilon's
group Abu Sayyaf group kidnapping and
ransom continues.
|
US designates RP-based RSM as terrorists
Links to Abu Sayyaf Group and Al Qaeda.
|
US sends troops from Guam to fight Abu Sayyaf
The US has sent troops from Guam to the
southern Philippines to help the nation fight the
terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. Gemma Casas reports Major
General
|
Abu Sayyaf
Group (ASG)
The Abu Sayyaf Group
(ASG) is an Islamic terrorist group operating in the
southern Philippines. Some ASG leaders allegedly fought in
Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion and are students
and proponents of radical Islamic teachings
|
BBC News | ASIA-PACIFIC | Who are the
Abu Sayyaf?
Hostage-taking
is the latest in a series of actions which began in the
early 1990s with a spate of bombings, assassinations and
kidnappings of priests and businessmen.
|
|
|
|
|
