Update - Southern Philippines Mayor İn Hands Of Abu Sayyaf

A town mayor kidnapped three weeks ago in the southern Philippines is now in the hands of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, a high-ranking military official said Tuesday.



Col. Rolando Bautista, commander of the Army's 104th Infantry Brigade based in Basilan, told reporters that it was initially thought that the mayor was brought to Basilan, but instead she was taken to the Abu Sayyaf island stronghold of Sulu.



"We checked the trails of information and it turned out that an ASG [Abu Sayyaf] member from Sulu was the one negotiating for ransom," Bautista told reporters.



He added that the Abu Sayyaf now wanted P100 million ($2.26 million) ransom for the safe release of Naga town Mayor Gemma Adana.



He did not give further details.



Adana was abducted by gunmen from her home in Taytay Manubo village in Naga town, Zamboanga Sibugay April 6.



The suspects entered her residence and forced her out and onto a motor launch at gunpoint.



Kidnap-for-ransom gangs frequently operate in Zamboanga Peninsula, Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi. The gangs are known to hand over their captives to Abu Sayyaf and negotiate for a ransom that, if paid, is shared with the al-Qaeda-linked group.



The kidnappers use isolated sea-lanes and coastal areas to grab their victims, who are then held captive in isolated Muslim villages in the peninsula.



Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf -- armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles -- has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortion in a self-determined fight for an independent Islamic province in the Philippines.



It is notorious for beheading victims after ransoms have failed to be paid for their release.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Zamboanga