THE Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) is on the lookout for Abu Sayyaf gunmen who are targeting more kidnap victims, reports The Star Online.

According to the paper, the 17 Abu Sayyaf gunmen are led by Salip Mura, Majan Sahidjuan @Apo Mike and Abu Radin. The group is believed to have left Jolo two days ago and is headed for Sabah’s east coast.

The group is believed to be meeting up with other supporters in Tawi-Tawi, who act as spotters for the terrorist-kidnappers.

Esscom commander Huzani Ghazali told the English daily they were aware of the movement of the gunmen near Sabah.

“We remain on full alert and have deployed all available forces into the area,” he said.

After a quiet period of nearly two years, the kidnap groups resurfaced last September amid talk that certain powerful political groups in Sulu are against the new expanded Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao that replaced the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Abu Sayyaf gunmen are still holding a Malaysian and two Indonesian fishermen snatched from the Pegasus Reef in the Kinabatangan area on December 5. – March 12, 2019.