By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
Two Philippine coast guard personnel who were kidnapped by an al-Qaeda-linked group in May have escaped after the military launched an operation that has reportedly left 15 Abu Sayyaf members dead.
Lieutenant General Rustico Guerrero, Western Mindanao Command chief, said in a statement that Rod Pagaling and Gringo Villaruz were recovered in Buansa village, southern Sulu province, Thursday morning after fleeing their captors’ jungle base.
"They were then turned over to the detachment of the Marine Battalion Landing Team-10 (MBLT-10)," he said, adding that they had been transported to a nearby military hospital for debriefing and medical assessment.
The heavy firefight Wednesday reportedly transpired when military troops stormed the base of the Abu Sayyaf band holding the two men captive.
"This gave the chance for the two to make good their escape," Guerrero said.
The coast guard personnel had been kidnapped in May in Aliguay Island, Dapitan City -- home to two high-end resorts frequented by foreign and domestic tourists -- alongside a village chief who was beheaded last week.
A video posted on Facebook in June had shown the three men -- blindfolded and shirtless -- pleading for help from local and national government officials.
It also featured eight armed men, whose faces were covered with scarves or hoods, threatening to behead them if a ransom demand of 1 million Philippine pesos ($21,580) was not paid for each of the victims.
The military said Wednesday that at least 15 Abu Sayyaf gunmen and a soldier were killed in an encounter in Sulu as troops were conducting rescue operations for the 11 hostages believed to be held by the group.
They reportedly include a mayor, a public school teacher and the grandson of a mayor from a local political clan, as well as foreigners such as a Malaysian businesswoman, a South Korean and a Dutch birdwatcher kidnapped in 2012.
Kidnap-for-ransom gangs frequently operate in southern Zamboanga Peninsula and the provinces of Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi.
They are known to hand over their captives to the Abu Sayyaf and negotiate for a ransom that, if paid, is shared with the group.
The kidnappers use isolated sea-lanes and coastal areas to grab their victims, who are then held captive in isolated Muslim villages in the peninsula.
Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf -- armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles -- has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortion in a self-determined fight for an independent Islamic province in the Philippines.
It is notorious for beheading victims after ransoms have failed to be paid for their release.
