Gunmen Kidnap Crew From Two Fishing Vessels Off Semporna, Sabah

UPDATE July 02: Confirmed reporting now states that nine hostages were taken, rather than 10. Therefore, all hostages were recovered on June 21. About ten perpetrators, likely members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), are believed to have been involved in the attack. They approached the fishing vessels via two speed boats.


UPDATE June 21: On June 21 at approx. 22:00 LT, elements of the maritime police station were on mobile patrol at Bgy Kahawa, Talipao, Sulu when they sighted a group of nine men walking along the road. After interviewing the men, they were confirmed to be the abducted crew who were released by their abductors (possibly upon payment being received, or a discovery that the men’s families didn’t have money/possessions to pay a ransom.) The nine men were brought to Talipao for questioning.

UPDATE June 21: On June 21 at approx. 22:00 LT, elements of the maritime police station were on mobile patrol at Bgy Kahawa, Talipao, Sulu when they sighted a group of nine men walking along the road. After interviewing the men, they were confirmed to be the abducted crew who were released by their abductors (possibly upon payment being received, or a discovery that the men’s families didn’t have money/possessions to pay a ransom.) The nine men were brought to Talipao for questioning.


June 18: Initial reporting suggests that this morning at approx. 02:45 LT an unspecified number of “heavily armed” gunmen in speedboats approached two Malaysian fishing vessels off Semporna, Sabah. The vessels were in Lahad Datu’s Tambisan waters, heading towards Semporna at the time. The gunmen boarded the vessels and proceeded to kidnap four of the six crew of one fishing vessel, and six of the ten crew of the other. It is unclear whether any violence was used to perpetrate the kidnapping.

Source: ReCAAP

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