Three Malaysian hostages rescued in southern RP
Three Malaysian hostages rescued in southern RP
JOLO, Philippines (Agencies): Philippine troops rescued three Malaysian hostages on Wednesday after a fierce firefight with their Muslim Abu Sayyaf guerrilla captors in the southern Philippines, the military said.
Dive resort manager Mohamed Noor Sulaiman, 43, divemaster Joseph Ongkinoh, 40, and contractor Kan Wei Chong, 35, were recovered in a village on the foothills of Mount Mahala, a rebel stronghold in the outskirts of Talipao town on Jolo island.
Troops stormed the area early Wednesday, triggering a running gunbattle that lasted for about an hour, the military said.
The raid left American Jeffrey Schilling and Filipino Roland Ullah as the only hostages left in Abu Sayyaf custody.
The leader of the Abu Sayyaf unit, Titing Aggah Noman, which held the Malaysians was believed killed in the fighting after he was seen by the freed captives being dragged away by his comrades, armed forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Generoso Senga said.
"The Malaysians are in good condition, except for some contusions arising from weeks of being dragged (around) by the rebels," in Jolo's rugged jungle terrain, Senga told reporters.
Malaysian ambassador Mohammad Arshad thanked Philippine government upon hearing the news of the hostages' fate. "On behalf of the family of the Malaysians I would like to thank the military," he said.
"From the start, we have prayed that these three hostages would be freed," Osu Sukam, chief minister of Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island, was quoted as saying by the national Bernama news agency.
The wives of two of the three Malaysian hostages freed on Wednesday said their prayers had been answered.
"Our prayers have been answered and having waited patiently and anxiously all this while, I am excited that Joe will be home any time now," said Nancy Ongkinoh, wife of Joseph Ongkinoh.
Siti Samsuddin, the wife of Sulaiman, had appealed to the Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels holding her husband hostage on Jolo island in southern Philippines to release him in time for their anniversary.
"It is a gift for my wedding anniversary on October 31," she told Reuters by telephone from her home in Kota Belud in Sabah. "I am very, very happy as my life has come back to me."
The freed captives, who had spent 46 days in Abu Sayyaf hands, were taken to an army brigade camp in Jolo and later flown out of the island for nearby Zamboanga city, where they are to be examined by doctors.
An AFP reporter said the three looked haggard and were bearded as they were led into the waiting helicopters accompanied by army Colonel Romeo Tolentino, whose men led the rescue.
Abu Sayyaf gunmen raided the dive resort of Pandanan off Malaysian Sabah on Sept. 10 and abducted the three Malaysians.
Ullah, the Filipino captive, was the only one left from the original batch of Abu Sayyaf hostages who were seized from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan, near Pandanan, on April 23.
Twenty others, including 10 western tourists, were ransomed off for millions of dollars.
The U.S. hostage, Schilling, voluntarily walked into the Abu Sayyaf camp on Aug. 28, the same day the last of the European hostages from the Sipadan group were freed.
Angered by the Abu Sayyaf's kidnapping spree which had scared away foreign investors and embarrassed his government, President Joseph Estrada dispatched 5,000 troops to Jolo on Sept. 16 to destroy the rebels and extricate the hostages.
About 143 rebels, five soldiers and three government militias have died since the assault was launched, the military said Wednesday.
Some 125 rebels have also been captured while 106 others have voluntarily surrendered after troops pounded rebel lairs with mortars and air raids, which had also displaced more than 82,000 villagers -- one-fifth of Jolo's population.