Abu Sabaya ( ; July 18, 1962 – June 21, 2002), born Aldam Tilao, was one of the leaders of the Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines until he was killed by soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in 2002.

Life

Abu Sabaya was a former engineering student and police trainee in

Zamboanga City Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga (Chavacano and es, Ciudad de Zamboanga, Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Dāira sin Sambuangan'', fil, Lungsod ng Zamboanga, ceb, Dakbayan sa Zamboanga), is a city in the Zamboanga Peninsula region ...

. He had lived in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

for several years before returning to the Philippines in the late 1990s. Prior to his death, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

government had placed a US$5,000,000 reward on his arrest for the May 2001

Dos Palmas kidnappings The Dos Palmas kidnappings was a hostage crisis in the southern Philippines that began with the seizing of twenty hostages from the affluent Dos Palmas Resort on a private island in the Honda Bay, Palawan, by members of Abu Sayyaf on May 27, 200 ...

of two American missionaries and another American who was beheaded. According to the Philippine Army documents, Sabaya had dropped out of a criminology course to join the Moro National Liberation Front (M.N.L.F.), an Islamic rebel group, who trained him in bomb-making and assassination. When the M.N.L.F. signed a peace treaty with the Philippine government in 1996, Sabaya joined Filipinos working in

. Upon his return to the Philippines he came into contact with

Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani (1959 – December 18, 1998) was the Moro chief founder and leader of the Abu Sayyaf organization until his death in 1998 by Filipino police. Upon his death his brother, Khadaffy Janjalani, took control of the or ...

, one of the founders of the Abu Sayyaf. Sabaya was accused of several hostage kidnappings. In Basilan, he was accused of being involved in 13 kidnappings incidents, including that of a Roman Catholic priest, schoolchildren and teachers. In reaction, the Philippine government offered a 5,000,000

peso The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the Dollar sign, same sign, "$", as many currencies na ...

reward for his capture. On June 21, 2002, after being tracked by United States and Philippine forces, Sabaya was confronted by a Special Warfare Group team of the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an e ...

. After attempting to evade capture, Sabaya was shot and killed at sea. Four other members of the Abu Sayyaf survived and were arrested during the incident. According to Australian scholar Bob East, Sabaya's death has had a significant impact on the Abu Sayyaf, as the number of operatives working for the group sharply decreased from 1100 in 2001 to 450 in late 2002, and had since been stagnant for the next ten years.

References

Sources

Search for Abu Sayyaf leader's body

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

, June 22, 2002
Philippines rebel leader 'shot'

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, June 21, 2002 *
Harakah Daily: Top Abu Sayyaf leader slain in southern Philippines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabaya, Abu 1962 births 2002 deaths Abu Sayyaf members Filipino Islamists Filipino Muslims Muslims with branch missing Paramilitary Filipinos