TEN armed men believed to be members of the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf hijacked a South Korean ship on Thursday and seized its captain and a Filipino crew member off Bongao in Tai-Tawi, an official said Friday.
Major Felimon Tan Jr., spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command, said the military was sealing off all escape routes to Sulu and Basilan to catch the terrorists who were on board a speedboat.
Tan said the terrorists seized the MV Dong Bang Giant 2 heavy loader carrier at 2:45 p.m. while it was heading for South Korea from Australia.
“Captain Park Chul Hong and crew member Glenn Alindajao from Cebu were seized by the 10 armed men suspected to be members of the Abu Sayyaf under Jul Hassan,” Tan said.
He said the men were followers of Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Idang Susukan based in Sulu.
“The Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi has alerted all units and dispatched military assets for counteraction,” Tan said.
“Validation and intelligence monitoring are currently being conducted by the military in coordination with local chief executives to rescue the victims.”