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The Associated Press
Sunday, November 8, 2009; 9:53 PM MANILA, Philippines -- Suspected al-Qaida-linked militants in the
southern Philippines beheaded a schoolteacher after kidnapping him last
month, officials said Monday.
The severed head of Gabriel Canizares, 36, was left in a bag at a gas
station on Jolo Island, three weeks after suspected Abu Sayyaf militants
stopped a passenger minibus and dragged him away in front of his
colleagues, said regional military commander Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino. The militants, notorious for bombings, ransom kidnappings and
beheadings, were reportedly demanding a ransom of 2 million pesos
($42,000) for his release. The Abu Sayyaf, which is suspected of receiving funds from al-Qaida, is
believed to have about 400 fighters on Jolo and nearby Basilan Island.
The group has been sheltering militants from the larger Southeast Asian
terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, the military says. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Monday ordered the military and
police to put an end to the Abu Sayyaf's "heinous and inhumane
atrocities," her spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said. "We shall make them pay for the enormity of this savagery," Fajardo said. Despite years of U.S. military training and assistance, Filipino troops
have struggled to contain the militants, who have recently intensified
attacks on Jolo, blowing up bridges, firing mortar shells and setting
off roadside bombs. A Sept. 29 land mine explosion under a military convoy carrying American
troops killed two U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers - the first U.S.
military deaths in the southern Philippines in seven years. About 600 U.S. troops are currently stationed in the south for training
and humanitarian missions, but are barred by Philippine law from
engaging in direct combat. Education Secretary Jesli Lapus expressed shock at the teacher's
killing, saying six other teachers who had been kidnapped by the Abu
Sayyaf earlier this year had all been released despite threats to behead
them. He said his department was at a loss how to ensure security for public
schoolteachers in high-risk areas and feared that the kidnappings would
discourage others from teaching underprivileged youths in Muslim areas.
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