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January 2nd, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda -
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Kidnapped: Warren Rodwell was abducted in the southern Filipino province of Zamboanga Sibugay in December.
Muslim rebels engaged in peace talks with the Philippine government say they have joined the search for an Australian man kidnapped by an armed group in the troubled south of the country.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has formed a tracking unit to help authorities recover 53-year-old Warren Rodwell, who was seized from his home by gunmen believed to be Islamic militants last month, rebel spokesman Vol Al-Haq said.
“We are working on it and all (the information) we gather we will feed to the ad-hoc joint action group,” al-Haq said.
He says the MILF is working to check unverified reports that Mr Rodwell is in the hands of the smaller Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group in their southern island territory of Basilan.
Mr Rodwell, a Sydney expat and retired army soldier who is married to a Filipina, had been living in the southern coastal town of Ipil for eight months prior to his abduction on December 5.
Authorities said Mr Rodwell may have been injured during the abduction as blood stains were found in the area where he was taken.
They said he was seen being dragged to a vehicle that sped off towards the coast on December 5.
Authorities had imposed a news blackout on the search, although various sources had said his abductors likely took him across to Basilan, a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf.
Local press, citing police sources, have reported that Mr Rodwell’s abductors sent his wife photographs to prove he was alive and demanded an initial ransom of 1 million pesos ($22,000).
Philippine police have declined to comment on the reports, as has Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
“It would be unhelpful to comment in detail on developments in the investigation,” a DFAT spokeswoman said.
“(Foreign officials and police) are in close contact with Mr Rodwell’s family and are keeping them informed of developments throughout this difficult ordeal.”
The Abu Sayyaf is a small band of Islamic militants which was formed with seed money from Al Qaeda in the 1990s.
It has carried out numerous kidnappings for ransom, often targeting foreigners and Christians and a spate of high-profile bombings over the past two decades.
AFP/Reuters
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