ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Philippine military has rescued 5 kidnapped Filipinos in Tawi-Tawi, one of five provinces under the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.
It said the victims would be presented to journalists in Zamboanga City on Monday following their recovery on Friday by soldiers and navy personnel. The military did not release details of the recovery or the identities of the Filipinos for a still unknown reason.
The Western Mindanao Command previously said that Abu Sayyaf militants are still holding over two dozen Filipinos and foreign hostages in the restive region.
Just this month, government troops also rescued 3 Vietnamese sailors – Buy Xuan Vien, Bui Trung Duc and Nguten Quang Huy – and recovered the body of another seaman Nguyin Huu Trong who died while in captivity, following a “special operation” launched by the military in the remote Tawi-Tawi town of Languyan.
Until now, security officials did not say how the Vietnamese were rescued or whether the hostages had been freed for ransom or not. The sailors were among 17 crew members of the cargo ship MV Giang Hai 5 hijacked by the Abu Sayyaf on February 25 while sailing off of Pangutaran Island. Two of the crewmen were also killed by the Abu Sayyaf while attempting to escape while the rest had been recovered by soldiers.
The recovery of the sailors coincided with President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Vietnam for the APEC summit. (Mindanao Examiner)
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