Three Malaysian hostages who were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf group from Malaysia in September were rescued after a three hour gunfight between the extremist group and government soldiers yesterday, the military said.
The hostages - resort manager Mohammed Noor Sulaiman, 43; diving expert Joseph Ongkinoh, 40; and contractor Kan Wei Chong, 35 - had been rescued from the temporary Abu Sayyaf camps held by Samsula Sukarno and Susung.
The hostages were not hurt or wounded. But they all looked haggard and sported unshaved beards.
The rescue of the Malaysians has left only two hostages still in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf - Filipino Roland Ullah who is held captive by Raddulan Sahjiron; and American Jeffrey Schilling who is with Ahmed Saluddin, also known as Abu Sabaya. They are believed to be hiding in Luuk-Panamao.
Sulaiman, one of the hostages, confirmed earlier reports that their first kidnapper, Abu Sayyaf leader Tuting Numan Agga, had been killed on October 10, in an encounter with government troops.
When the military launched operations in Jolo on September 16 , Agga together with his followers brought the hostages to a hideout on the slopes of Mount Mahala in Talipao but had to descend because they were suffering from a lack of food, according to a civilian resident of the same village.
Sukarno and Susung fled after the encounter yesterday. Soldiers were still scouring the area to determine how many Abu Sayyaf members were killed. None of the known Abu Sayyaf leaders was arrested.