Mabul attack could be retaliation for intensified operations, says Esscom chief

The attack on Pulau Mabul last night, which saw one policeman shot dead and another possibly taken hostage was believed to be an act of retaliation following intensified enforcement in the waters off Sabah, The Star reported today. Quoting Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) commander DCP Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun, The Star reported that the eight gunmen could have planned to carry out a kidnapping at one of the island's resorts but instead, attacked the two policemen.Corporal Rajah Jamuan was killed in the shootout with heavily armed Filipino gunmen in military fatigues while his colleague Zakiah Aliep, 26, was taken away. The incident took place at about 11pm at the Mabul Water Bungalows Resort. Rajah’s body was found below the jetty of the resort while Zakiah was reported missing. Three other marine personnel in a patrol boat close to the area moved in to assist as the gunmen fled. A massive sea and air hunt, codenamed Ops Tutup, was launched early Sunday. The masked gunmen reportedly crossed over to the Tawi Tawi chain of islands in southern Philippines. The raid is widely seen as a “revenge” attack against security forces because of recent clampdowns against militant and kidnap-for-ransom groups operating in Sabah's east coast, The Star reported. Earlier, sources told The Star that initial indication was that the gunmen might have rowed slowly into the area during low tide before climbing up the resort's jetty from the back of the building. Most of the workers and guests at the resort were already in their rooms and sleeping when the incident occurred. "We heard the shooting but we did not come out. At 6.30am (Sunday), I went to ask the General Operations Force (GOF) personnel (stationed on Mabul) if anything had happened, they told me nothing happened. "But I read on online news that there was shooting and kidnapping," a resort worker told The Star on condition of anonymity. – July 13, 2014.



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