Injured	Killed
0	1

Date: 18 July 2010
Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20100719-282009/Leader-of-kidnap-group-killed-in-Zamboanga-clash

MANILA, Philippines — (UPDATE) An alleged leader of a notorious kidnapping group operating in Zamboanga Peninsula was killed in a clash with authorities in the province on Sunday, police said on Monday.

Jun Akilan of the Pingli-Akilan gang was killed Sunday in a clash on Sacol Island off the port city of Zamboanga, nearly 200 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of where Toshio Ito was allegedly seized by gunmen last Friday.

In a report from Chief Superintendent Angelo Sunglao of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Western Mindanao, Akilan was reportedly one of the leaders of the Pingli/Akilan kidnap-for-ransom group.

Authorities clashed with Akilan and his group early morning Sunday, leading to Akilan’s death. Prior to the clash, police said Akilan was purportedly about to stage another kidnapping in the province.

Authorities are now verifying if Akilan, is one of those involved in the kidnapping of the 63-year-old Japanese national in Sulu last Friday.

“Government security forces in hot pursuit of the abductors of a Japanese national clashed with a notorious kidnapping group… killing a suspected bandit leader,” the national police said in a statement.

“Police authorities are also investigating the possible involvement of the Pingli-Akilan group in the kidnapping (of Ito).”

Police had earlier identified the abducted Japanese man as Amer Katayama Mamaito, the name under which he was known locally, but documents found at his home gave his real name as Toshio Ito, regional military chief Lieutenant General Benjamin Dolorfino said.

Ten men snatched Ito at gunpoint from Pangutaran, one of many small islands that make up the mostly Muslim-populated Sulu archipelago, where he had lived since 2004, Dolorfino said.

He added that based on documents found at his home, Ito was originally from Hiroshima and was born in 1947.

It was not clear when he entered the Philippines or why he was living in a volatile and remote part of the country, where foreigners are advised not to travel.

Dolorfino said police were investigating reports Ito may have been a treasure hunter who ran a small pharmacy on Pangutaran.

The Japanese foreign ministry in Tokyo said its embassy in Manila had been investigating news reports about the case but it had received no solid information yet.

Akilan’s group is one of many small armed gangs operating in the lawless southern islands of Sulu that engage in kidnappings for ransom.

However police did not specify on Monday what other kidnappings Akilan’s group had been involved in.

The most notorious of the groups is the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, which is on the US government’s list of foreign terrorist organizations.