“A 70-year-old British man and his Filipino wife have been kidnapped from their beach resort in the Philippines by an armed gang, police have said.” The couple were “seized at gunpoint and dragged across the beach, where they were taken on two motorised boats.”
The incident raises concerns about the resurgence of Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic State-affiliated jihad group. Previously, “a sustained campaign against such groups by security forces has reduced the problem.” While no one has claimed responsibility in the abductions of Allan Hyrons and Welma Paglinawan-Hyrons, “the region is home to numerous armed groups, including the Islamic State-affiliated Abu Sayyaf.”
That same group has carried out jihad suicide bombings in the region.
As the Islamic State has lost territory in the Middle East, it is regrouping in the Philippines:
“American surveillance drones monitor the southern Philippine archipelago, where the nation’s Muslim minority is concentrated and local insurgencies have long battled the Christian-majority state. But even as the military offensive intensifies, the government avoids conceding that the Philippines is in the global slipstream of Islamist extremism. Top officials have played down incidents in which the Islamic State has sent foreign fighters and financing to the Philippines for deadly attacks.
Jihad activity will only expand in the Philippines with this denial, as it does everywhere.
“British man and his wife kidnapped at gunpoint from Philippines beach resort,” by Russell Hope, Sky News, October 5, 2019:
A 70-year-old British man and his Filipino wife have been kidnapped from their beach resort in the Philippines by an armed gang, police have said.
Allan Hyrons and Welma Paglinawan-Hyrons were abducted at around 6.50pm on Friday evening by at least four gunmen in the southern town of Tukuran.
Corporal Jairus delos Reyes said the suspects, who were armed with pistols, took the couple from a hut in their resort at nightfall and dragged them across the beach to boats.
Several young men in a nearby bar witnessed the abduction, police said, with some reports claiming there were as many as six members in the gang.
Police and military officers are searching for the unidentified gunmen and the couple, who own two schools in addition to the resort in the coastal town, Mr delos Reyes said.
Major Helen Galvez, of the Philippine regional police, said two of the suspected kidnappers had booked into the resort the day before.
The couple were “seized at gunpoint and dragged across the beach, where they were taken on two motorised boats that immediately sped off into the high seas in opposite directions”, Major Galvez said….