Filipino media is reporting today that a Malaysian hostage, taken along with two Indonesian nationals while fishing off the coast of Sabah, was shot last Thursday night after being caught in crossfire between his Abu Sayyaf captors, and Philippine security.
Jari Abdullah, 34, was shot several times in the head and chest, and is now at a hospital in Zambonga City in critical condition.
He was airlifted to a hospital in nearby Jolo before being sent on to the more comprehensive medical center where he is currently being treated.
A Western Mindanao Command spokesperson told local media that he was found by security forces at 4:25pm following a shootout. Jari had attempted to escape from his abductors when the 15-minute firefight broke out but, “was shot by the Abu Sayyaf.”
Authorities believe that the militants were being led by Najir Arik. The incident occurred on Simusa Island, in Sulu.
In early December, 2018, Jari, along with two others Hari Ardiansya, 19, and Hariadin, 45, were kidnapped by militants from a Sandakan, Sabah-based fishing trawler near Kinabatangan-Lahad Datu. The vessel was later found empty, and drifting near the Tawi Rawi islands.
In the months following the abduction, Jari’s wife in Sandakan reported that Abu Sayyaf had made contact with her, asking that she contact Malaysian authorities to encourage them to negotiate her husband’s release.
