By Julie Alipala
Inquirer, Agence France-Presse
Last updated 05:24pm (Mla time) 12/11/2007

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines -- An alleged Abu Sayyaf member who authorities say has been convicted in absentia for his involvement in the 2001 kidnapping of tourists from the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan was captured by authorities here Monday afternoon.

Senior Superintendent Manuel Barcena, city police chief, said Adel Kamala, alias Abu Moadz and Boy Sniper, was arrested along Corcuerra Street here around 4:30 p.m.

Barcena said their investigation showed Kamala is one of the Abu Sayyaf members convicted in absentia for the Dos Palmas kidnapping.

He also faces charges for the siege in Lamitan town on June 2, 2001.

Kamala’s arrest came less than a week after 14 other Abu Sayyaf members were jailed for life for the Dos Palmas kidnapping.

Seized from the resort were American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham, Peru-born American Guillermo Sobero, and 17 other Filipino tourists and hotel staff.

The gunmen beheaded Sobero just a few weeks after he was taken hostage, while Martin Burnham and two Filipino hostages were killed during a rescue attempt in June 2002.

Gracia Burnham was wounded but survived the ordeal and was subsequently reunited with her children.

The other hostages were either ransomed off or escaped during the year-long hostage drama.

A number of Abu Sayyaf members involved in the hostage taking are still at large, according to authorities.

Abu Sayyaf, set up with funds from the Al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, has been blamed for the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines, including a February 2004 ferry bombing in Manila, which claimed more than 100 lives.

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