- MANILA: An official says Philippine troops have captured an Abu Sayyaf militant suspected of involvement in the 2001 kidnappings of three Americans and 17 Filipino tourists.
Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. says police and soldiers captured Sonny Baki Barahim on Tuesday in a raid on a house in Isabela city in southern Basilan province.
Ochoa says Barahim has been hunted for years for his role in the May 2001 kidnappings at a resort in western Palawan province.
One of the Americans was beheaded by the militants. Another was rescued. The third was killed in a US-backed army assault. Most of the other captives either escaped or were ransomed off.
Ochoa heads the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.
