Military sources say they received a report that a white speedboat had docked at Barangay Kaunayan, Patikul, Sulu at 12.30pm on Tuesday, September 22. The information was not released to the press until late Thursday.

The same report suggested the boat contained the kidnap victims from Samal. The source reportedly had more information that the military is still verifying.

If true, it appears the kidnappers transferred the victims immediately onto a white boat and headed straight to the Sulu archipelago.

The source also says a group known as “Tanum” were the ones who took the men from Samal Island.

Tanum is a barangay in the municipality of Patikul in the province of Sulu – part of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. 

The group is known by it’s black flying Islamic State (IS) flag which has been seen heavily throughout the Sulu region as well as Zamboanga peninsula . Recently numerous meetings have been broken up by the Philippines Army, many started by the IS-linked Tanum group.

The Tanum group has also been in the news in the past few years for carrying out kidnappings for Abu Sayyaf.

Military officials are now confirming that intelligence reports point to Sulu as the place where the kidnappers brought the victims from Samal.

Military officials now know for sure that Canadians John Ridsdel and Robert Hall were the targets and that Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad may have been taken for ransom as he is married to the sister of the owner of Oceanview Marina and Resort. The owner also owns ferry, bus lines and taxi services throughout Davao, Samal and the Philippines.

Ridsdel is a former senior vice president of a Canadian mining firm doing work in Zamboanga region. Hall worked for the same company as a geologist.

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