ICRC Kidnapping Timeline

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Courtesy of GMANews.TV

January 15, 2009: Armed men intercepted an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) SUV near the provincial capitol in Jolo, Sulu. They ordered three passengers to get out, then took three others as hostages and used the SUV as a getaway vehicle.

• Taken hostage were ICRC Zamboanga head Andreas Notter, a 38-year-old Swiss national; Water Habitat delegate Eugenio Vagni, 62, Italian; and ICRC engineer Mary Jean Lacaba, a Filipina.
• Those ordered out of the SUV and left behind were ICRC field officers Dr. Ritchie Sorilla and Ramon Catacutan, along with their Tausug guide.
• The ICRC group had just come from a water and sanitation project for Sulu Provincial Jail inmates that morning and were headed for Zamboanga City when the armed men accosted them.
• The Philippine Marines recovered the ICRC vehicle in Sulu hours later, but the captives and their kidnappers were nowhere to be found.
• Malacanang tasked the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines to track down the kidnappers and ensure the safe return of the captives.

January 16, 2009: The kidnapped volunteers contacted the ICRC directly and said they were unharmed. This first contact was followed by other calls from Notter, Vagni and Lacaba over the next few days, according to the ICRC.

Initial military intelligence reports pointed to the group of Abu Sayyaf leader Albader Parad as the group behind the kidnapping. Authorities also looked into the possible involvement of one Raden Abu, a former jail guard.

January 17, 2009: The AFP suspended giving out media updates on military efforts to rescue the three ... READ MORE

BatoBato Replies: Etong mga Abu Sayaf na to, mga bakla siguro kayo! At ang tatanga ninyo! Sabagay, wala nga pala kayong pinag-aralan. Malamang pati yang relihiyon ninyo, hindi nyo pinag-aralan! Sinisira nyo tuloy ang imahin ng mga Muslim sa mundo. Hindi ganyan kumilos at mag-isip ang tunay na Muslim. Kaya mga Abu Sayaf, kung meron man internet dyan sa lugar ninyo at kung may blogger account yang mga members nyo, pwede ba, wag kayong BAKLA! pakawalan nyo na yang mga hostages nyo at kung hindi kukurutin ko isa-isa yang mga singet nyo!