A British man and his Filipina wife have been rescued from the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf, the Philippine Military announced today.
Members of the Army’s 2nd Special Forces rescued businessman Allan Hyrons and his wife, Wilma Hyrons, at around 8:30am this morning after a shootout with their kidnappers, regional military commander Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana told The Philippine Daily Inquirer. The couple, who were kidnapped in October, were rescued in the town of Parang in Sulu.
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Sobejana told Rappler that the gunfight between the troops and the Abu Sayyaf fighters lasted for about 10 minutes before the latter scattered and fled, leaving the Hyrons behind.
“The two were left behind; they couldn’t bring them along. So they scampered away in different directions. But we will continue with our hot pursuit, [and] our troops are still there on the ground,” Sobejana said.
Sobejana said that the couple is “OK,” but were still brought to a hospital for a check-up. He said that the couple’s rescue was the result of a three-day military operation against the terrorists.
The Hyrons were abducted from their beach resort in Tukuran, a town in Zamboanga del Sur, which led the authorities to search the entire peninsula for them. When the search proved unsuccessful, it was extended to the island of Sulu, where Abu Sayyaf’s camp is located.
Philippine forces are still in the process of trying to rescue three Indonesian fishermen whom the bandits kidnapped from Sabah, in Malaysia, in September.
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