Vietnamese sailor rescued from Sayyaf captors
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Another Vietnamese sailor kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf bandits last year was rescued on an island in Basilan on Sunday.
Operatives of Joint Task Force Basilan (JTFB) recovered Do Trung Huie on Mataja island at about 9 p.m., Rear Admiral Rene Medina, Naval Forces Western Mindanao commander, said yesterday.
“The rescue was a result of... intelligence operations and... airstrikes launched by our troops,” Col. Juvymax Uy, JTFB commander, said.
Huie was taken to the headquarters of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao and then to Camp Navarro General Hospital for checkup.
Huie and five other crewmembers of M/V Royal 16 were taken near Sibago island in Basilan on Nov. 11, 2016.
The kidnappers were reportedly led by Alvin Yusop, alias Arab Puti, who is based in Sulu, and Basilan-based sub-leader Radzmil Jannatul, alias Kubayb.
Hoang Vo, 22, escaped from his captors and was rescued last June 16 following an airstrike that targeted the hideout of Abu Sayyaf subleader Furuji Indama.
The bandits beheaded Hoang Trung Thong and Hoang Van Hai. Their remains were found in Barangay Tumahubong, Sumisip town on July 5.
On July 8, the military recovered a bullet-riddled body believed to be that of Tran Khac Dung, alias Tran Viet Van, in Barangay Buhanginan in Patikul, Sulu.
There is still no word on the fate of Pham Minh Tuan.
Last week, operatives of JTFB rescued the last of the four construction workers taken by the Abu Sayyaf from their barracks at a school in Patikul on July 15. Fifteen foreigners and eight Filipinos remain in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf.