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Three people allegedly linked to the kidnapping of American vlogger Elliot Eastman were killed in an encounter in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay on Tuesday, according to regional police.
The suspects were identified as Mursid Ahod, Abdul Sahibad, and Fahad Sahibad.
“Intelligence suggests that Ahod and the Sahibad brothers provided refuge and support to other suspects and persons of interest involved in Mr. Eastman’s abduction, enabling their evasion from authorities,” the Police Regional Office 9 (PRO-9) said.
Police and military conducted the operation in the Barangay Canacan at 5:59 a.m. on Tuesday, which led to an armed encounter with 10 supposed lawless elements.
According to Philippine Army’s 1st Infantry Division, Ahod was involved in numerous kidnap-for-ransom, extortion, and theft cases, and was also a suspect in the Kabasalan Massacre in 2015 and 2016.
Meanwhile, the military said Abdul and Fahad were alleged members of a kidnap-for-ransom group operating in Zamboanga Peninsula.
Kidnapping and serious illegal detention complaints have been filed against six suspects in Eastman’s abduction, three of them already in police custody.
Four men abducted Eastman from his in-laws’ house in the coastal town of Sibuco on October 17. He reportedly resisted but was shot in the leg. He was then brought to a boat that headed for the high seas.
Neither ransom demand nor proof of life has since been received from Eastman’s abductors.
In his previous vlogs, Eastman had talked about “not being liked” in their area, saying residents “want bad things to happen” to him, and that people have been informing his family of threats to kidnap him.
According to the regional police, authorities had been reminding Eastman that he is vulnerable to kidnapping because he is a foreigner, considering previous incidents in the area.
Eastman, married to a Filipino woman, is said to have been in the Philippines for five months.
The reward for information that can help locate Eastman is now P500,000. —KBK, GMA Integrated News