The ten Indonesian hostages that were kidnapped by Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants in late March - when their coal vessel was sailing in Philippine waters - have been released, unharmed, on Sunday (01/05). It was reported in local media that tug boat operator Patria Maritime Lines agreed to pay the 50 million peso (approx. USD $1 million) ransom that had been demanded by the rebels. The ten Indonesian hostages arrived in Jakarta in the early hours of Monday (02/05).

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Coal shipments between Indonesia and the Philippines are disrupted by the recent series of incidents that occurred in the seas off the coast of the southern Philippines. Two Indonesian coal ports are now (temporarily) disallowing Indonesian ships from transporting coal to the Philippines. Security concerns heightened after members of the militant Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf network (based in the southwestern part of the Philippines) captured 18 Indonesians and Malaysians in three separate ship hijackings in recent weeks. It is feared that the waters around the southern Philippines become the new Somalia.

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Ten Indonesians have reportedly been taken hostage by Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants after their Indonesian vessel, en route from Banjarmasin (South Kalimantan) to the Philippines, was hijacked in Philippine waters. According to local media the Indonesian vessel (a tug boat) was found abandoned in the Philippines' Tawi-Tawi province and a USD $1 million ransom has been demanded in exchange for the crew's release. The incident apparently already happened on Saturday (26/03). Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Ministry and State Intelligence Agency (BIN) have confirmed the case.

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