ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — A kidnap victim, who was abducted along with two female cops and another male companion, had been freed unharmed by the Abu Sayyaf group in Patikul town, Sulu, according to security official. Hambali was immediately brought by his family to the Joint Task Force Sulu for coordination regarding his release and was placed under debriefing. Pursuing forces encountered Monday the Abu Sayyaf group who was holding the hostages in Barangay Buhanginan, which left three Abu Sayyaf members killed and seven soldiers wounded. The security official, who asked not to be named as he is not authorized to make public statement, could not say if the recovery of the freed captive led the troops in tracking the location of the Abu Sayyaf group. Aside from the four fresh captives, the Abu Sayyaf group was also holding 10 more hostages, including a Dutch national, a Vietnamese, three Indonesians and five Filipinos, all in Sulu.

Source: Philippine Star May 08, 2018 07:30 UTC