Indonesian held by Abu Sayyaf in Philippines escapes
Member of tugboat crew found in nets off southern Philippines shore after fleeing on being told he would be beheaded
By Hader Glang & Ainur Rohmah
ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines/TUBAN, Indonesia
One of seven members of an Indonesian tugboat crew kidnapped by a Daesh-affiliated group in the Sulu Sea has escaped, according to police and military authorities.
The seven -- kidnapped mid June -- were due to be executed by the Abu Sayyaf Aug. 15 after a ransom deadline of $5.4 million passed.
Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., spokesman for the army's Western Mindanao Command, confirmed Mohammad Safyan had escaped Wednesday.
Citing an official report from the Sulu Provincial Police Office, Tan said Safyan, 28, was found stuck in fishing nets by locals on the shore of a town in southern Sulu province at around 7.30 a.m. (2330GMT Tuesday).
"Sayfan was seen by the residents floating and was trapped in fishnets at the place of rescue," Tan said. "He was immediately brought by the residents to the Municipal Police Station of Luuk, Sulu."
Safyan's family appeared unaware that their relative had escaped when contacted by Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.
"Mashallah [My God]. Where you get the news from?" family representative Dian Megawati said on the phone, on being informed.
"It is true that Sofyan is our family, but we did not get any information until now," she said, adding that she now hoped all the hostages would be saved.
"We continue to hope for the best."
According to Tan, reports from ground units disclosed that Safyan escaped from a mangrove farm when his captors declared that they would behead him.
Tan said Safyan -- abducted from a tugboat in the Sulu Sea near the Philippines border June 23 along with six other crew -- will be brought to the Sulu Provincial Police Office for processing and documentation prior to being sent back to his family.
He added that troops -- involved in a month-long operation to eradicate the Abu Sayyaf from Basilan -- had been directed to the area to try and locate the remaining kidnap victims and rescue them.
Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., Western Mindanao Command spokesman, said in a statement Tuesday that soldiers had taken over an Abu Sayyaf camp in Tipo-Tipo town in Basilan island province after a prolonged assault.
Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf -- armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles -- has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortions in a self-determined fight for an independent province in the Philippines.
It is notorious for beheading victims after ransoms have failed to be paid for their release.
Safyan's escape lowers the number of Indonesian hostages in Abu Sayyaf hands to six, although it is also holding a Norwegian, a Dutchman, three Malaysians, and seven Filipinos.
On Tuesday, suspected Abu Sayyaf militants also abducted a public school teacher in Patikul town in Sulu province.
The Abu Sayyaf is among two militant groups in the south who have pledged allegiance to Daesh, prompting fears during the stalling of a peace process between the government and the country's biggest Moro group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, that Daesh could make inroads in a region torn by decades of armed conflict.
