Gunmen free 18 captives in RP

Gunmen free 18 captives in RP

ILIGAN, Philippines (Reuters): A group of sacked security guards abducted 18 minibus passengers in the southern Philippines but freed them after negotiators promised help over unpaid wages, the military said on Thursday.

The captives -- including 11 students and seven staffers of Mindanao State University (MSU) -- were kidnapped on Wednesday but were released 20 hours later to a government negotiating panel, a military report said.

It said the kidnappers were nine former MSU guards who had been dismissed from their jobs and were demanding payment of back wages totaling 250,000 pesos ($6,200).

"The negotiators told them they would help facilitate the release of their money ... We have recovered all of the hostages," army spokesman Captain Benjamin Hao told Reuters.

The victims were on their way home when the ex-guards, armed with assault rifles, stopped their minibus, pulled the driver out and drove away with their captives to a remote village in Baloi, Lanao del Norte province, 800 km south of Manila.