3 INDONESIAN HOSTAGES FREED

Philippine military ops against Abu Sayyaf militants led to trio’s freedom

THREE Indonesian fishermen held by members of a notorious Islamist kidnap-for-ransom group have walked free 18 months after they were abducted off the southern Philippines, the military said yesterday.

The men were kidnapped in January last year while on board a speedboat off the southernmost island group of Tawi-Tawi, which together with the nearby Sulu archipelago are preyed on by Abu Sayyaf militants.

The Indonesians were freed in the town of Indanan in Sulu on Saturday and “turned over” to authorities following “intensified military operations” against the Abu Sayyaf, a regional army spokesman said.

Asked if a ransom was paid, Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Besana said: “No, there was definitely no ransom given.

“(They) were pressured by our operations.”

On Sunday the Philippine military identified the three Indonesians as Hamdam Bin Salim, 34, Subande Satto, 27, and Sudarlan Samansung, 41.

The hostages were brought to a military hospital and turned over to the Indonesian ambassador who was to accompany them to Manila, a military statement said.

The Abu Sayyaf is still holding 11 hostages, including a Dutch bird-watcher abducted in 2012 and a Vietnamese captive, according to Besana.