Philippines exerts effort to free foreign captives

One of Malaysian captives freed by Philippine troops on March 23 (Source: EPA/VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - Philippine soldiers have killed at least 10 Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf militants in an attempt to rescue foreign captives, including Vietnamese, held in southern Jolo Island, Sulu province.

Major-General Carlito Galvez, military commander of western Mindanao said on April 3 that 32 Philippine soldiers were wounded in an assault the previous day on a hideout of the rebel group in Talipao town, where the militants were believed to be holding six Vietnamese captives.

Philippine troops clashed for more than an hour with about 100 Abu Sayyaf rebels led by Radullan Sahiron, a one-armed militant leader who figures on the US State Department's wanted list, with a 1-million-USD bounty, Galvez said.

Last month, five Malaysians were freed on Jolo and two Filipino sailors were rescued on nearby Basilan Island by Philippine soldiers.

Established in the 1990s, the Abu Sayyaf rebel group includes about 400 militants operating in the Southern Philippines. It is notorious for kidnapping, bomb attacks and executing hostages.-VNA  

VNA