Vietnam responds to information about 2 sailors brutally murdered by Abu Sayyaf

This afternoon, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang stated Vietnam's reaction to the news that two Vietnamese sailors were brutally murdered by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines.

The spokesperson said that regarding the press reports that two Vietnamese sailors were murdered by the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines have requested Philippine authorities to verify the information and provide necessary support as soon as possible.

"Vietnam strongly condemns all acts of brutal and inhumane kidnapping and murder and believes that these acts must be punished appropriately," Ms. Hang emphasized.

Previously, international media quoted an announcement from the Philippine military saying that the two crew members were brutally murdered and their bodies were found on Basilan Island, southern Philippines on July 5.

Two crew members, believed to be Vietnamese, have been held hostage for the past eight months.

Basilan is the base of operations of Abu Sayyaf. Abu Sayyaf was formed in the 1990s and operates with funding from Osama Bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network.

According to Vietnamnet.vn