Description:
Abu Sayyaf, whose name means ?bearer of the sword? in Arabic, is a militant organization based in the southern
Philippines. It seeks a separate Islamic state for the country's Muslim minority. The
White House says
Abu Sayyaf is a
terrorist organization that boasts of ties to
Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, as well as the Indonesian network of
Jemaah Islamiyah. In the early 1990s,
Abu Sayyaf split from the
Moro National Liberation Front, one of the two major Muslim separatist movements in the southern
Philippines, which were then trying to come to terms with the central government in
Manila. The group's first major attack came in 1991, when an
Abu Sayyaf grenade killed two American evangelists.Its first leader was
Abdurajak Janjalani, a
Philippine Muslim who fought in the international Islamist brigade in
Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation.
Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, a Saudi businessman living in the
Philippines, provided crucial financing and organizational support for
Abu Sayyaf in its early years. From 1998 to 2006 the group was led by
Khadaffy Janjalani, who took over the
leadership position when his older brother Abdurajak was killed.The group currently engages in
kidnappings for ransom, bombings, assassinations, and
extortion, and has ties to
Jemaah Islamiya (
JI). The
ASG operates mainly in
Basilan,
Sulu, and
Tawi-Tawi Provinces in the
Sulu Archipelago, and has a presence on Mindanao. Members also occasionally travel to
Manila.The
ASG has used terror both for financial profit and to promote its
jihadist agenda. In April 2000 an
ASG faction
kidnapped 21 persons?including 10 Westerners?from a
Malaysian resort, and, in May 2001, the
ASG kidnapped three US citizens and 17 Filipinos from a resort in
Palawan,
Philippines, later murdering several of the hostages, including one US citizen. On 27 February 2004 members of Khadafi
Janjalani?s faction bombed a ferry in
Manila Bay, killing 116, and on 14 February 2005 they perpetrated simultaneous bombings in the cities of
Manila, General Santos, and
Davao, killing at least eight and injuring about 150. In 2006
ASG leader
Janjalani?s faction relocated to
Sulu, where they joined forces with local
ASG supporters who are providing shelter to
fugitive JI members from
Indonesia. In July 2007, the
ASG and
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) engaged a force of
Philippine marines on
Basilan Island, killing 14, of which 10 were beheaded. In November 2007, a motorcycle
bomb exploded outside the
Philippine Congress, killing a Congressman and three staff members. While there was no definitive claim of responsibility, three suspected
ASG members were arrested during a subsequent raid on a safehouse.
Observations: Location/Area of Operation The
ASG was founded in
Basilan Province and operates primarily in the provinces of the
Sulu Archipelago, namely
Basilan,
Sulu, and
Tawi-Tawi. The group also operates on the
Zamboanga peninsula, and members occasionally travel to
Manila. In mid-2003, the group started operating in Mindanao?s city of Cotobato and on the provincial coast of
Sultan Kudarat, Mindanao. The group expanded its operational reach to
Malaysia in 2000 with the
abduction of foreigners from a tourist resort there. External Aid The
ASG is largely supported by Middle Eastern Islamic extremists, but also receives funding from regional
terrorist groups such as
Jemaah Islamiya (
JI), which is based mainly in
Indonesia, and through acts of ransom and
extortion.
Libya publicly reported in 2000 that it paid millions of dollars for the release of the foreign hostages seized from
Malaysia.
JI operatives have provided training to
ASG members and likely facilitated at least some of the
ASG´s
terrorist attacks.