PNP: Sayyaf member arrested in Zamboanga for kidnapping in Basilan

Authorities have arrested an Abu Sayyaf member allegedly involved in a kidnapping incident in Basilan in 2011, a police official said Friday. Isnajir Sakkam alias "Abu Fatima" was arrested at the Zamboanga City Public Market early Friday morning, said Police Director Samuel D. Pagdilao Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG). Pagdilao said a team composed of police and military personnel, acting on a tip by the Community Investigative Support (CIS), carried out the arrest. The CIS is a network of volunteers that help the CIDG in apprehending wanted criminals. According to Pagdilao, Sakkam is wanted for kidnapping and serious illegal detention of a 14-year-old at the Golden Harvest Plantation in in Barangay Tairan in Lantawan town. The Abu Sayyaf is a notorious kidnap-for-ransom group linked to the al Qeada international terror network. It is also linked to bombing incidents and assassinations in Mindanao. The bandit group is classified by the US State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. —  Patricia Denise Chiu /LBG, GMA News