Word: ransoms
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...that members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) colluded with Abu Sayyaf. When troops brought them food, she writes, "We were told it was because [Abu Sayyaf leader Abu] Sabaya was wheeling and dealing with the AFP general of that area over how to split up any ransom that might be paid." Elsewhere, she recalls wanting to ask President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo "about how her military was on the take." The AFP has denied numerous past allegations of collusion, and a spokesman called this one "unbelievable." "Preposterous," said Congressman Rodolfo Albano, though Arroyo pledged to again investigate...
...kidnapping and murder of an 11-year-old boy, should go ahead despite the fact that police had threatened Gäfgen with torture to force him to reveal the boy's whereabouts. Gäfgen was arrested last year after police saw him collect a 31 million ransom paid by the boy's father. Police said they needed to make the threat in case the victim was still alive, but in danger. Gäfgen then gave police the boy's location, but he was already dead. Judges ruled that Gäfgen's rights had been violated...
Each year, between 200 and 300 kids are taken in "stereotypical" kidnappings (i.e. grabbed from their homes or playgrounds and then murdered or held for ransom), and 50 to 150 are murdered. Officials expect this year's total number to dip to near 100, hopefully dragging down the murder rate accordingly. And despite what you might reasonably think after hearing the terrible stories of Elizabeth Smart (who was returned safely home more than nine months after her abduction) and Samantha Runnion, the specter of kidnapping by strangers should not be parents' primary concern; parents themselves perpetrate more than 98 percent...
...after the Davao blast, a spokesman for the Abu Sayyaf group called a radio station in Zamboanga to claim responsibility for the attack. Philippine authorities immediately shot his claim down. The home turf of Abu Sayyaf, which specialized in kidnapping-for-ransom before dedicating itself to jihad last year, is far away on the islands of Jolo and Basilan, southwest of Mindanao. Some suspect that the Abu Sayyaf wanted to take the blame to sound more fearsome than it currently is?or to shield the MILF, which is in peace talks with Manila. Those talks are now stalled, intensifying...
...nexus for Southeast Asian terrorists and are providing a training ground for operatives linked to Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist network widely blamed for last October's deadly Bali bombings. Officially, the army says it launched last week's operation to pursue a kidnap-for-ransom gang (called the Pentagon) that was being given sanctuary by the MILF. Another goal was to disperse a concentration of 1,000 MILF fighters on the edge of the Liguasan marshes, an expanse of waterways and islands that make up one of the group's few remaining strongholds. Philippine and Western...