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SUNGAI BULOH, Malaysia – A Malaysian gecko trader held captive by suspected Abu Sayyafmilitants for a year in the southern Philippines says he saw groupmembers as young as 15 skilled in using M16 rifles that wereprevalent in the impoverished region. Nazarrudin Saidin's account in an interview with The AssociatedPress gives a rare glimpse into the operations of theal-Qaida-linked militant group, blamed for many ransom kidnappings,bomb attacks and beheadings over more than two decades. It also details an ordeal that started in May of last year whenmasked gunmen abducted Nazarrudin on the Philippine island of Jolo,moving him to hideouts on other islands over the following 12months. He escaped at one point and hid in a mangrove, only toreturn to his kidnappers out of hunger — "I felt like I wason the verge of dying." He finally escaped to safety two weeks ago. "I saw teenagers as young as 15 walking around in the villages withM16 rifles and pistols," Nazarrudin said in a small, run-down homejust north of Kuala Lumpur, where he lives with his wife, sixchildren and parents near a palm oil plantation. "Sometimes they practiced shooting in the jungle and seemedskillful in handling the weapons," he said, adding that he believedthey were Abu Sayyaf members. A 2011 U.N. report said other former Abu Sayyaf captives also havereported children in the group's ranks, but that the claims "couldnot be verified owing to security constraints." Photographs and TVfootage taken inside Abu Sayyaf camps have appeared to confirm thepresence of armed teenagers. Abu Sayyaf has not commented publicly on child soldiers, but othermilitant Muslim groups in the Philippines have described a policyof admitting youths as young as 15 as trainees, while requiringthem to be 18 before engaging in combat. Abu Sayyaf's stated goal is a separate Islamic state in the southof the mainly Catholic Philippines, though its fighters fromimpoverished villages are attracted more by ransom money thanideology. U.S.-backed military strikes have weakened the group, which nownumbers about 400 by military estimates, but it's still considereda threat to regional security and is currently suspected in thekidnapping of a former Australian soldier and a Japanese. Nazarrudin said he saw only light weapons and machetes among hiscaptors. He was mainly held indoors and did not know who the AbuSayyaf leaders were. Nazarrudin said he rarely saw regularvillagers, but his captivity for long stretches in various placesindicated the militants still had the tacit support of communitiesin the region. "I told them many times that I am not a rich man but they wantedmoney. They said they are poor and oppressed by their governmentbut (I believe) as Muslims, they shouldn't do such things," hesaid. The Abu Sayyaf raised $704,000 in 11 kidnappings in 2010 and killedsix Filipino hostages whose families failed to pay a bounty,according to a government threat assessment obtained by The AP lastyear. Nazarrudin, a former truck driver, apparently went to Jolo toobtain geckos collected by villagers, though he declined toelaborate about his business. He was sleeping in a friend's house one night when gunman stormedin and took him. He was handcuffed and forced to walk for hours inthe dark to a village in the jungle, where he was kept in a hut.His captors removed his handcuffs after two weeks and fed himvegetables and sometimes fried rice. After four months, Nazzarudin said he heard bombing sounds fromafar. He was taken by speedboat to a fishing village on anotherisland and held in a bamboo house on stilts near the sea. A Philippine military official, who spoke on condition of anonymitybecause he wasn't authorized to comment to the media, said themilitants would not likely have harmed Nazarrudin because ofconcerns it may prompt a backlash against thousands of Filipinosworking nearby in Malaysia's eastern Sabah state on Borneo island. But knowing his family couldn't afford what his captors said was aransom of 5 million pesos ($116,000), Nazarrudin sneaked out earlyone morning and ran as fast as he could. He hid in a mangrove swamp, trying to avoid snakes and eating rawsnails and mud crabs to survive. "After a month, I felt like I was on the verge of dying. I was veryweak and had little energy left. So I surrendered myself. It wasbetter than having to die alone in the swamp," he said. Back in the village, he was surprised to see another hostage at thehouse and later found out it was a Malaysian ethnic Chinese fishtrader. They were later joined by a third captive — BijuKolara Veetil from India — but were allowed to speak to eachother only after a few weeks. Veetil told Nazarrudin he was abducted while visiting his wife'shometown in Sulu province. Police have said they are trying toverify intelligence reports that Veetil might have been killed evenafter a ransom was paid. The three men were moved to a swamp area after the militants heardabout a possible sting operation by Philippine troops. Guarded byeight gunmen, they camped there for weeks before returning to thevillage. Nazarrudin was later taken to another island while the other twocaptives remained behind. After several weeks, he was brought backto Jolo to another secluded hillside village, where he escaped forthe second time. The gunmen pursued him for hours, firing warning shots into the airand furiously calling out for him. He eluded them, trekking forthree days to a village where he met someone who helped him securea nearly 10-hour boat ride to Sabah. Last week, Nazarrudin flew back to Kuala Lumpur for a tearfulfamily reunion. "This experience has made me a better man but I will never returnto the Philippines again," he said. ___ Associated Press writers Jim Gomez and Hrvoje Hranjski in Manilacontributed to this report. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Multifunction Beauty Equipment , Beauty Spa Equipment for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Q Switched Nd Yag Laser.
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