Two Malaysian sailors held captive for eight months by the Abu Sayyaf Group were rescued in the sea of Kalinggalang Caluang near Pata Island in Sulu yesterday, the military said.
Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay, Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command spokesperson, identified the rescued Malaysians as Tayudin Anjut, 45, and Abdurahim Bin Sumas, 62.
The two were weak and sickly when they were rescued by the Philippine Marine Ready Force Sulu led by a Major Angcap, Marine Special Operations Group, and Marine Battalion Landing Teams 1 and 3 at around 2 a.m., said Major Gen. Carlito G. Galvez Jr., Armed Forces Wescom chief.
The Marines received information that ASG sub-leader Alhabsy Misaya with about 30 fully armed followers and two Malaysian hostages were hiding in the mangrove area of Barangay Karudong in Kalinggalang Caluang, prompting them to mount an operation.
Officials said the two were abandoned without a fight by their captors as a naval patrol closed in.
The two Malaysians were taken to a military hospital for a check-up. “The rescued kidnap victims are weak and in a sickly state when they were rescued by our troops. Military doctors are now attending to them as we speak in our hospital in Sulu,” Galvez said.
“This accomplishment is a product of the combined efforts of our soldiers and the different stakeholders in putting pressure on the kidnappers for the past months,” Galvez said.
Anjut and Sumas were among five Malaysian tugboat crewmen kidnapped in July off Lahad Dayu, Sabah, Malaysia near Sulu.
The Abu Sayyaf survives mostly on ransom kidnappings, extortion, and other acts of banditry, targeting slow-moving tugboats in the busy sea bordering Sulu, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
At least 28 hostages, many of them foreign crewmen, remain in the hands of different Abu Sayyaf factions, officials said. (Francis T. Wakefield)