By Jaime Laude
MANILA, Philippines - The Abu Sayyaf group that beheaded German hostage Juergen Kantner last Sunday is still holding 31 foreign and local hostages, the Department of National Defense (DND) said yesterday.
Director Arsenio Andolong, chief of the DND’s Public Affairs Service, said the bandits are still holding 12 Vietnamese, seven Indonesians, five Malaysians, a Dutchman and six Filipinos as hostages.
Andolong stressed military operations in rescuing the remaining hostages are being hampered by the support of civilian communities that the bandits have already established.
He said a good number of civilians and some dubious personalities in the province have been providing help to the bandits for financial considerations.
The military has deployed thousands of troops in the Abu Sayyaf strongholds of Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Jolo islands, yet despite air and ground offensives, the bandit group’s piracy and kidnappings continue unabated.
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