Philippines Horror: ‘We Beheaded Your Son’: Muslim Militants Message Fallen Soldier’s Mother

Pure unadulterated Evil.

The story comes from The Daily Caller via The Religion of Peace.

‘We Beheaded Your Son’: Muslim Militants Message Fallen Soldier’s Mother

The mother of a fallen soldier received a deeply disturbing text message after a bloody engagement between Philippine troops and Muslim militants Monday.

Philippine forces engaged heavily armed Abu Sayyaf militants in three separate battles near Patikul, Sulu Province, Monday. Fifteen Philippine soldiers were killed, and another 12 were injured.

After hearing the news that there had been casualties during the fighting, Mila Falcasantos sent a message to her son Jison, a private first class in the Army’s 35th Infantry Battalion, reports Inquirer.net.

“Son, how are you there?” she texted Monday evening. She received no response from her son that night.

The next morning, a message came in on her phone.

“Your son is dead, he has no head now, we cut off his head on Tuesday,” the shocking message read.

Falcasantos replied, “You have no conscience.”

A second message came in shortly thereafter. “Indeed, we have no qualms because they were the ones who came to our area. I will cut your head off too,” read the message. They were allegedly sent by Abu Sayyaf militants.

Falcasantos contacted one of her relatives, a military officer, who confirmed that her son was among the 15 soldiers killed in action.

An Abu Sayyaf rebel is seen in the Philippines in this video grab made available February 6, 2009. REUTERS/Philippine National Red Cross via Reuters TV An Abu Sayyaf rebel is seen in the Philippines in this video grab made available February 6, 2009. REUTERS/Philippine National Red Cross via Reuters TV

The mother of a fallen soldier received a deeply disturbing text message after a bloody engagement between Philippine troops and Muslim militants Monday.

Philippine forces engaged heavily armed Abu Sayyaf militants in three separate battles near Patikul, Sulu Province, Monday. Fifteen Philippine soldiers were killed, and another 12 were injured.

After hearing the news that there had been casualties during the fighting, Mila Falcasantos sent a message to her son Jison, a private first class in the Army’s 35th Infantry Battalion, reports Inquirer.net.

“Son, how are you there?” she texted Monday evening. She received no response from her son that night.

The next morning, a message came in on her phone.

“Your son is dead, he has no head now, we cut off his head on Tuesday,” the shocking message read.

Falcasantos replied, “You have no conscience.”

A second message came in shortly thereafter. “Indeed, we have no qualms because they were the ones who came to our area. I will cut your head off too,” read the message. They were allegedly sent by Abu Sayyaf militants.

Falcasantos contacted one of her relatives, a military officer, who confirmed that her son was among the 15 soldiers killed in action.

Initial reports suggested that two Philippine soldiers had been decapitated by Abu Sayyaf militants; however, Western Mindanao Command spokesman Major Filemon Tan Jr. announced Tuesday that all 15 bodies had been recovered and that none of the soldiers had been mutilated or decapitated, reports CNN.

Abu Sayyaf is a terrorist group based in the southern part of the Philippines which has been operational for nearly two decades. This group is said to be loyal to Islamic State. This band of Muslim militants flies the black flag of ISIS, and aims to create an independent Islamic state in the Philippines.

Abu Sayyaf is responsible for the Philippines worst terrorist attack, a ferry bombing in 2004, which killed over a hundred people. They kidnap foreigners and Filipinos for ransom and regularly executes hostages.

In response to this growing threat, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has instructed troops to go “full force” and wipe out Abu Sayyaf, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Thousands of additional troops have been sent to the south to combat Abu Sayyaf, which is said to have around 500 fighters.

Duterte initially tried to negotiate a ceasefire with Abu Sayyaf, but later changed his stance. He order troops to “go out and destroy them.”

With the deployment of the 63rd Infantry Battalion Wednesday, there are now 7,500 Philippine soldiers spread out across Sulu Province, explained ABS CBN News. Abu Sayyaf has announced that it is ready for the “soldiers of Duterte.”

Thousands of Philippine citizens in the south have already fled their homes in fear of what they expect will be a fierce and bloody battle.

Al Qaeda in the Philippines Sets Ransom for Two Canadians and One Norwegian at $60 Million

You can't say that Islamic terrorists aren't bashful when asking for money not to kill their hostages.

The story comes from DAWN.

Filipino militants demand $60 mln ransom for three foreigners

MANILA: Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen have demanded more than $60 million for two Canadians and a Norwegian they are holding in the jungles of the southern Philippines in the largest ransom the Muslim militants have sought for their hostages in years.

Army Brig Gen Alan Arrojado said Wednesday the Philippine government maintains a no-ransom policy, adding there would be no let-up in efforts by his troops to secure the hostages' freedom in the safest way possible.

In the video circulated online by the US-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi websites, the kidnappers and their captives said for the first time that the Abu Sayyaf was behind the Sept. 21 kidnappings in an upscale marina on the southern resort island of Samal.

In the first video of the hostages last month, the kidnappers demanded a stop to military offensives but did not identify themselves.

In the latest video, the hostages and one of the mostly masked kidnappers said a ransom of 1 billion pesos ($21 million) must be paid for each of the captives to secure their freedom.

The militant said the captives would be killed if the ransom was not paid but did not give any deadline.

One of the hostages, Canadian John Ridsdel, pleaded for Canada's prime minister and people to heed the ransom demand "as soon as possible or our lives are in great danger."

A militant, who did not wear a mask, pointed a knife at him and the two other captives as each of them spoke. A fourth female captive seized from Samal who has been identified by authorities as a Filipino citizen was not allowed to speak in the video.

The hostages were seen sitting on a clearing with the more than a dozen heavily-armed militants standing behind them. Two black flags were displayed in the background.

Aside from Ridsdel, Philippine authorities have identified the other hostages as Canadian Robert Hall, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad and Filipino national Maritess Flor. They were abducted at gunpoint from a yacht-berthing resort on Samal in Davao del Norte province in the south, scene of a decades-long Muslim rebellion in the largely Roman Catholic nation.

The United States and the Philippines have separately blacklisted the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization for kidnappings, beheadings, extortion and bomb attacks. The Al Qaida-linked militants have been weakened but have survived more than a decade of US-backed offensives.

Following the Sept. 21 kidnappings, Philippine authorities vowed to strengthen security in the south. But three weeks later, gunmen abducted a former Italian Catholic missionary from his pizza restaurant in southern Zamboanga Sibugay province.

The abductions highlight the long-running security problems that have hounded the southern Philippines, a region with bountiful resources, but which also suffers from poverty, lawlessness and decades-long Muslim and communist insurgencies.

Philippine Air Strike Hits Total Paydirt Killing 15 Islamic Terrorists and a Who's Who of Wanted Leaders

It's not often we even SEE a report of the Philippines military taking action against the very real islamic terrorists in their country but considering WHO they took out in this new air strike makes it impossible NOT to report the incident.

From the report at The Long War Journal:

The Philippine Air Force force killed a senior Jemaah Islamiyah leader, a top Abu Sayyaf Group commander, and 13 others, including a wanted Singaporean terrorist, during an airstrike in Sulu province.

Zulkifli bin Hir, one of the most wanted leaders of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah; Umbra Jumdail, a senior Abu Sayyaf commander, and his son Teng; and Muhamad Ali, another wanted JI operative, were all killed in the early morning today in an airstrike, according to the country's top military commander.

Chief of Staff General Jessie Dellosa said the 3 a.m. airstrike targeted a camp in the village of Duyan Kabaw in Parang in the southern province of Sulu. Dellosa expressed certainty that the terrorist leaders had been killed even though the military was not in possession of the dead bodies.

"I am sure because I will not easily issue a statement here," he said, according to Inquirer News. "We have intelligence people and locals in the area."

A military spokesman said the strike, which was carried out by two OV-10 Broncos, light military attack aircraft used in counterinsurgency operations, was the result of months of intelligence gathering. Several 500-pound bombs were dropped on the terrorists' camp. No civilians were reported to have been killed in the strike.

You can tell from this report that the Philippines military had perfect intelligence on this and it was decided that they simply would not allow anyone to survive from this camp - this must have been an incredible scene late at night when the bombs rained down on the jihadis.

To take out that many terrorist leaders at one time is amazing in any setting - I have to be honest, there have been similar gatherings of Taliban leadership in Pakistan from time to time that I have dreamt of the same sort of attack taking place.

Philippine military kills wanted Jemaah Islamiyah, Abu Sayyaf operatives in airstrike


The Philippine Air Force force killed a senior Jemaah Islamiyah leader, a top Abu Sayyaf Group commander, and 13 others, including a wanted Singaporean terrorist, during an airstrike in Sulu province.

Zulkifli bin Hir, one of the most wanted leaders of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah; Umbra Jumdail, a senior Abu Sayyaf commander, and his son Teng; and Muhamad Ali, another wanted JI operative, were all killed in the early morning today in an airstrike, according to the country's top military commander.

Chief of Staff General Jessie Dellosa said the 3 a.m. airstrike targeted a camp in the village of Duyan Kabaw in Parang in the southern province of Sulu. Dellosa expressed certainty that the terrorist leaders had been killed even though the military was not in possession of the dead bodies.

"I am sure because I will not easily issue a statement here," he said, according to Inquirer News. "We have intelligence people and locals in the area."

A military spokesman said the strike, which was carried out by two OV-10 Broncos, light military attack aircraft used in counterinsurgency operations, was the result of months of intelligence gathering. Several 500-pound bombs were dropped on the terrorists' camp. No civilians were reported to have been killed in the strike.

The operation was "based on a thorough, well-executed plan and months of continuous monitoring and surveillance of JI and ASG personalities," Colonel Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., a military spokesman, said during a briefing, Inquirer News reported. In early January, a senior general disclosed that the military was engaged in operations in Sulu hunting for Hir; Muhamad Ali; Qayim and Sa'ad, two Indonesians; and Amin Baco, who is thought to be a Malaysian national.

Although no US involvement in the strike has been reported, US Special Forces are based in the Philippines to aid the government and military in their fight against the al Qaeda-linked groups and to assist in humanitarian efforts. The Philippine constitution prohibits US troops from engaging in combat operations in the country.

Zulkifli bin Hir, a Malaysian national known as "Marwan," is wanted by the US government, which has a $5 million reward out for information leading to his capture. Hir is "an engineer trained in the United States" and "is believed to be the head of the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) terrorist organization and a member of Jemaah Islamiyah's central command," according to the US State Department's Rewards for Justice website. He is believed to have been sheltering in the Philippines since 2003 and has served as a bomb maker for the Abu Sayyaf Group.

Umbra Jumdail, a senior Abu Sayyaf Group commander who is also known as Doc Abu, is wanted by both the US government, which has offered a $140,000 reward for information leading to his capture, and the Philippine government. He has been involved in numerous kidnappings and assassinations.

Muhamad Ali, a Singaporean national also known as Mauwiya Anjala, is a Jemaah Islamiyah leader who is also wanted by the US, which has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to his capture.

Jemaah Islamiyah is an Islamist terrorist group that seeks to establish a pan-Islamic state across Southeast Asia. Jemaah Islamiyah is most active in Indonesia and the Philippines, but also conducts operations in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. The terror group is al Qaeda's regional affiliate in Southeast Asia and its operatives have been responsible for devastating attacks in the region, including the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, the 2004 suicide car bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, the August 2003 car bombing of the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta, and a series of bombings in Manila.

The terror group has suffered major setbacks inside Indonesia, with many of its top leaders killed or captured over the past several years. Among them are Dulmatin, a top leader and military commander (killed in 2010); and Noordin Mohammed Top, a senior leader, recruiter, strategist, and fundraiser (killed in 2009). Umar Patek, a top JI leader, was captured in March 2010 in Abbottabad, Pakistan, just months before al Qaeda emir Osama bin Laden was killed in the same city in a US special operations raid. Abu Bakir Bashir, the terror group's founder, is currently in prison for founding, financing, and supporting al Qaeda in Aceh.

The Abu Sayyaf Group is a Philippines-based terrorist and criminal gang formed by fighters who returned from the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union. The group was funded and financed by Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, one of Osama bin Laden's brother-in-laws, according to Khaddafy Janjalani, the leader of Abu Sayyaf before he was killed in 2006. Khalifa, an al Qaeda financier and facilitator, was killed by US special operations forces in Madagascar in 2006.

14 Yr Old American Boy Escapes From Al Qaeda-linked Captors In the Philippines, Safe After 5 Months As Hostage

This really is an incredible story as 14 year old Kevin Lunsmann, an American teenager who has been a hostage of the al Qaeda-linked Islamic terror group in the Philippines for five months, outwitted his captors and escaped. In an amazing feat of wit and bravery, this young man is now safe and will be reunited with this family.

From the article at Emirates 24/7 we see just how young Kevin got away:

A kidnapped American teenage boy escaped from suspected Al Qaeda-linked militants and wandered without shoes for two days in a southern Philippine jungle before villagers found him, ending his five-month captivity, officials said Sunday.

Kevin Lunsmann, 14, told his four armed captors that he would take a bath in a stream and then made a dash for freedom Friday in Basilan province, police Senior Supt. Edwin de Ocampo said. He followed a river down a mountain until villagers found him late the next day, de Ocampo said.

Exhausted, hungry and still stunned, the boy initially fled from the villagers, de Ocampo said.

"He was in fear so there was a bit of a chase before the villagers convinced him that they were friends," de Ocampo told The Associated Press. He said the boy was fine, but was exhausted and had bruises on his arms and feet.

Obviously, this is one lucky young man and all of America rejoices in his freedom. It also points to the growing risk Americans are facing in ANY foreign country they find themselves in - hell, we even have warnings about Americans traveling just south into Mexico.

US hostage escapes in Philippine jungle


A kidnapped American teenage boy escaped from suspected Al Qaeda-linked militants and wandered without shoes for two days in a southern Philippine jungle before villagers found him, ending his five-month captivity, officials said Sunday.

Kevin Lunsmann, 14, told his four armed captors that he would take a bath in a stream and then made a dash for freedom Friday in Basilan province, police Senior Supt. Edwin de Ocampo said. He followed a river down a mountain until villagers found him late the next day, de Ocampo said.

Exhausted, hungry and still stunned, the boy initially fled from the villagers, de Ocampo said.

"He was in fear so there was a bit of a chase before the villagers convinced him that they were friends," de Ocampo told The Associated Press. He said the boy was fine, but was exhausted and had bruises on his arms and feet.

Initial reports had said the boy was freed by his captors.

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat said he has been flown to Manila and turned over to U.S. officials there.

US Ambassador Harry Thomas said the boy would be reunited with his family soon.

"In this holiday season nothing makes me happier than knowing that an innocent victim is returned to his family in time for holiday celebrations," Thomas said in a statement. "I also want to acknowledge the courage of Kevin himself, and his family, throughout this long ordeal."

Thomas said there would be a "speedy investigation and prosecution of all those involved in the kidnapping of American citizens."

Lobregat said the boy has talked by phone with his Filipino-American mother, Gerfa Yeatts Lunsmann, who was in the United States. He, his mother and a Filipino cousin were vacationing with relatives on an island near Zamboanga City when they were snatched July 12 and taken by boat to nearby Basilan.

The captors then called the family in Campbell County, Virginia, to demand a ransom, officials said.

The mother was freed two months ago after she was dropped off by boat at a wharf on Basilan. The boy's Filipino cousin escaped from their captors last month when Filipino army forces managed to get near an Abu Sayyaf camp in the mountains of Basilan, about 550 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila.

Lobregat said he was unaware if any ransom changed hands.

Army Col. Ricardo Visaya said the kidnappers were believed led by Abu Sayyaf militant Puruji Indama, who is notorious for ransom kidnappings and beheadings. Troops were hunting down the militants and clashed with one group in Akbar town, near Lamitan, which may have distracted the kidnappers and gave Lunsmann a chance to flee, he said.

When Visaya asked the boy if he was freed, which would indicate that ransom was paid, or escaped, Lunsmann replied that he fled from his captors. "No, I really did it myself," he quoted Lunsmann as telling him. Visaya said he later handed the boy to American troops based in Basilan.

Ransom kidnappings have long been a problem in the impoverished region and are blamed mostly on the Abu Sayyaf, an al-Qaida-linked group on a list of US terrorist organizations, and its allied armed groups. The militants are notorious for kidnappings, beheadings and bombings.

The Abu Sayyaf, which has less than 400 armed fighters, was founded on Basilan in the 1990s as an offshoot of a violent Muslim insurgency that has been raging for decades. Hundreds of US troops have been stationed in the southern Philippines, including Basilan, to train and equip Philippine forces but are barred from local combat.

On Monday, suspected militants abducted Australian Warren Richard Rodwell, 53, from his seaside house in Zamboanga Sibugay province, near Basilan.

The Abu Sayyaf are believed to be still holding an Indian, a Malaysian and a Japanese in their jungle strongholds on Jolo island, near Basilan.

Al Qaeda-linked Philippine Islamic Terrorist Group Abu Sayyaff Kills 7 Philippine Soldiers, Wound 21

Seven Philippine soldiers were killed and 21 were wounded. - AFP (File Photo)

Just a reminder folks that the Philippines doesn't get a pass from islamic terror either as Philippine troops in a nighttime operation against the terror group Abu Sayyaf found themselves in the middle of a terrorist camp and the results were not good at all - the result was 7 dead Philippine troops and 21 wounded.

From the report at DAWN:

Seven Philippine soldiers were killed and 21 were wounded in fierce clashes with al Qaeda-linked Islamic militants in the southern Philippines on Thursday, the military said.

The soldiers encountered members of the Abu Sayyaf group in one of their hideouts in the forests of Jolo Island before dawn, local military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Randolf Cabangbang told reporters.

“The encounter was fierce and troops encountered a big group of the Abu Sayyaf,” he said, adding extra forces and air support had since been called into the area.

“I think what happened was, the troops were on manoeuvres during the entire night, and in the morning that’s when they realised they were already in the (Abu Sayyaf) camp.

That explains why we have so many casualties,” he said.

Cabangbang said it was believed the militants were under the control of senior Abu Sayyaf figures wanted for previous kidnappings of Americans and Filipinos in the southern Philippines.

The terror group Abu Sayyaf has been in the news in the past mostly for their kidnapping of Westerners and their long demands for ransoms - I can't remember the last time that there's been a report of a significant terror attack by the group but much of that is due to the fact that the group has been pushed into the deepest jungles of the country.

But, as you can see from this report, this had to be a really large concentration of Abu Sayyaf to be able to do this much damage to what appears to be a large military contingent. I'm guessing that by now the Philippine military is probably doing a bit of "jungle deforestation" at this camp.

Abu Sayyaf kills seven Philippine soldiers: military


ZAMBOANGA, Philippines: Seven Philippine soldiers were killed and 21 were wounded in fierce clashes with al Qaeda-linked Islamic militants in the southern Philippines on Thursday, the military said.

The soldiers encountered members of the Abu Sayyaf group in one of their hideouts in the forests of Jolo Island before dawn, local military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Randolf Cabangbang told reporters.

“The encounter was fierce and troops encountered a big group of the Abu Sayyaf,” he said, adding extra forces and air support had since been called into the area.

Cabangbang said it appeared the soldiers stumbled into a major Abu Sayyaf camp as they chased a small group of the militants.

“I think what happened was, the troops were on manoeuvres during the entire night, and in the morning that’s when they realised they were already in the (Abu Sayyaf) camp.

That explains why we have so many casualties,” he said.

Cabangbang said it was believed the militants were under the control of senior Abu Sayyaf figures wanted for previous kidnappings of Americans and Filipinos in the southern Philippines.

One of those leaders is Isnilon Hapilon, the subject of a dollar 5-million-dollar reward from the US government for information leading to his capture.

Another is Radullan Sahiron, an ageing Abu Sayyaf figure who has a dollar 1-million-dollar bounty on his head and is easily distinguished because he lost his right hand fighting security forces in the 1970s.

However Cabangbang said it was not clear whether Hapilon and Sahiron were directly involved in Thursday’s clashes.

He also said the military was not yet able to say if there were any Abu Sayyaf casualties.

The Abu Sayyaf, a small gang of self-styled Islamist militants founded in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network, is blamed for the country’s worst terrorist attacks.

These include the bombing of a passenger ferry in Manila Bay in 2004 that killed more than 100 people, as well as a string of high-profile abductions targeting foreigners and locals.

Hundreds of US troops have been deployed on Jolo and other parts of the southern Philippines since 2002 to help eliminate the Abu Sayyaf.

However they are only allowed to train Filipino soldiers, and not engage in any combat operations.

The Philippine and US militaries have described their joint operations in the south as a success, saying the Abu Sayyaf threat has diminished and their militant numbers are down to just a few hundred.

However incidents such as Thursday’s clashes show the Abu Sayyaf remains able to conduct deadly operations.

There have also been a string of kidnappings in the south in recent months that authorities suspect have involved the Abu Sayyaf.

The military and police blamed the Abu Sayyaf for kidnapping a Malaysian trader on Jolo in May. The kidnappers have demanded eight million pesos (dollar 185,000) for his release.

The Abu Sayyaf was also blamed for kidnapping an Indian man who was visiting his Filipina wife’s hometown on Jolo last month. No ransom demand, if any, has been made public.