Since early 2002, U.S. forces have provided training and intelligence support to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as a component of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. The AFP have been engaged in combat with the Abu Sayyaf, a group previously known for its brutal, though hardly political, kidnappings. Though "Abu Sayyaf" is usually proceeded with the words the "al Qaeda-linked," there was little tangible evidence of such a link from the mid-1990s to 2002. From its founding in 1991 by Afghan veteran Abdurrajak Janjalani through Ramzi Yousef's Bojinka Plot in 1995, the links were clear and convincing. However, in 2002, the leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), al Qaeda's regional affiliate responsible for the bombings of the Sari Nightclub in Bali (October 2002), the J. W. Marriott Hotel (August 2003), and the Australian Embassy (September 2004), were reeling from a number of arrests and setbacks.

In December 2011, the Australian world traveller, ex-member of the Australian Regular Army and university teacher Warren Richard Rodwell was kidnapped for ransom in the Mindanao region of the southern Philippines by a group of criminals claiming to be members of the notorious terrorist/insurgent organisation the Abu Sayyaf Group. This particular group had loose ties with other insurgent groups that were indulging in similar criminal activity in the greater Sulu Archipelago area including the Zamboanga peninsular â " where Rodwell was abducted. Rodwell was kept prisoner for a total of 472 days making him the longest held Australian captive outside of official Prisoners-of-War (POWs). During his 472 days of captivity he was moved between various jungle hideouts in the Islands of Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, eventually being freed by his captors only a few kilometres from where he was originally kidnapped. His tale of survival is made all the more remarkable considering he endured an untreated gunshot wound and an almost starvation diet â " losing over one third of his body weight â " and was forced to walk and climb in oppressive heat and under constant threat of being beheaded. When he was finally released in March 2013 he was emaciated, physically and emotionally at the lowest point in his life, and totally bewildered. During his period of obligatory debriefing by both Philippine and Australian authorities, an amazing tale of survival unfolded. Rodwellâ (TM)s determination to overcome all obstacles in his path to eventual freedom is the quintessence of all that is dear in life â " life itself.

The fragmented Abu Sayyaf may be many things, but insurgents fighting for liberation they are not. The various groups, with many leaders, have descended into murderers and kidnappers who show no compassion for their victims. Their sole motivation, and, indeed, obsession, is greed accompanied by fear. This publication follows the rise of criminality in the greater Mindanao region – especially the Sulu Archipelago provinces – in the context of the participation of major state and non-state players in the suppression of the Moros – indigenous Muslims. The Catholic Church comes in for extensive scrutiny for the power it holds in the region. The 70 plus years of deliberate minoritisation of the Moros by various Philippine administrations are brought into the equation in order to understand why a murderous group such as the Abu Sayyaf has, in the main, so much local support. The waxing and waning of the “fortunes” of the Abu Sayyaf in the 20 plus years of its existence, and the inability of the various Philippine administrations to stamp out this criminality is examined. The criminality and brutality of the group, especially in the time since the death of its late co-founder – Khadaffy Janjalani – is documented. It shows an escalation that defies explanation given the thousands of Philippines troops that have been deployed in the Sulu Archipelago provinces of Sulu and Basilan.

Maria A Ressa has been interviewed by The Wall Street Journal ( High-Profile Journalist Reshapes Her Role in Terrorism Fight )The two most wanted terrorists in Southeast Asia OCo a Malaysian and a Singaporean OCo are on the run in the Philippines, but they manage to keep their friends and family updated on Facebook. Filipinos connect with al-Qaeda-linked groups in Somalia and Yemen. The black flag OCo embedded in al-Qaeda lore OCo pops up on websites and Facebook pages from around the world, including the Philippines, Indonesia, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Australia, and North Africa. The black flag is believed to herald an apocalypse that brings Islam's triumph. These are a few of the signs that define terrorism's new battleground: the Internet and social media.In this groundbreaking work of investigative journalism, Maria Ressa traces the spread of terrorism from the training camps of Afghanistan to Southeast Asia and the Philippines. Through research done at the International Center for Political Violence & Terrorism Research in Singapore and sociograms created by the CORE Lab at the Naval Postgraduate School, the book examines the social networks which spread the virulent ideology that powered terrorist attacks in the past 10 years.Many of the stories here have never been told before, including details about the 10 days during which Ressa led the crisis team in the Ces Drilon kidnapping case by the Abu Sayyaf in 2008. The book forms the powerful narrative that glues together the social networks OCo both physical and virtual OCo which spread the jihadi virus from bin Laden to Facebook.

In the Presence of My Enemies, the gripping true story of American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham’s year as hostages in the Philippine jungle, was a New York Times best seller and has sold nearly 350,000 copies. This updated edition contains never-before-published information on the capture and trial of the Burnhams’ captors; Gracia’s secret return trip to the Philippines; and updates on recent events in Gracia’s life, ministry, and family.

The task of researching the material for this book proved more arduous than originally anticipated. The Abu Sayyaf Group was generally misunderstood in their formation, goals, ideology – if any – and structure. Consequently, it became necessary to chronologically trace all the crimes attributed to the group as well as research the lives and deeds of the leaders and majordomos in the group. This at times became a task of trying to distinguish what was fact from what was myth. The main source of primary evidence for this book came from newspaper reports and official Philippine Government media releases – including Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) releases. The newspaper reports, and AFP releases, were, in the main, carefully choreographed to reflect the domestic security policies of the Philippine Administration of the time. Individual reports, including those from the Bangkok-based Focus on the Global South, gave a more balanced account of the Abu Sayyaf activities and their leaders. After careful consideration of all data and evidence available, it became obvious the Abu Sayyaf had been in decline since its heyday of 2002. This was even more so since the death of Khadaffy Janjalani in the middle part of the first decade of the 21st century. The conclusion reached was that the Abu Sayyaf in 2012 existed in name only – or fragmented cells – more so than any organised terrorist entity.

Abu Sayyaf (AS) emerged in 1990 as a splinter group composed of former MNLF fighters and Filipinos who had fought in Afghanistan. It resorted to terrorist tactics, including executions of civilians, bombings, and increasingly kidnappings for ransom. The AS leadership established links with Jeemah Islamiah, an Al Qaeda-affiliated group in SE Asia that used Mindanao for training and organizing terrorist strikes. Contents of this report: The Philippine Response to 9/11; Historic Muslim Insurgency; AS: Origins, Strength, and Operations; Connections to Al Qaeda and Jeemah Islamiah; Links to the MILF; Philippine Gov¿t. and AFP Policies and Oper.; The 2002 Balikatan Oper.: U.S. Support Role on Jolo Island and in W. Mindanao; U.S. Military Involvement.