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Philippine Troops Rescue 12 Hostages
Philippine government troops rescued Monday 12 evangelists of the Jesus Miracle Crusade (JMC) who had been held hostage since July by the Abu Sayyaf in the southern Sulu province, leaving five other hostages with the rebel group.
Philippine President Joseph Estrada announced the rescue of JMC leader Wilde Almeda and his 11 followers as he reiterated his call to the Abu Sayyaf to surrender immediately.
"I call on them to surrender as soon as possible so we can have peace and order in Mindanao," said the president in a statement.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Angelo Reyes said one of the 12 evangelists, Fernando Solon, was recovered by elements of the 69th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Mabahay, Talipao, Sulu, at 8^According to Reyes, Solon managed to flee at the height of a firefight between pursuing Army troopers and Abu Sayyaf kidnappers since Sunday.
After being rescued, Solon was taken by the military in a helicopter and pointed out the location of the others, Reyes said. Troops attacked and rescued the other JMC members at around 4^The Abu Sayyaf group under Galib Andang, alias commander Robot, put up a fight for two minutes before scampering to different direction, leaving their JMC captives behind, Reyes said.
Reyes said the 12 evangelist have been brought to Zamboanga city and they will be taken to Manila on Tuesday.
Almeda and his followers were prevented by the Abu Sayyaf from leaving their lair since July 1. The evangelists went there to pray over the earlier kidnapped 21 foreigners and Filipinos by the group from Malaysia.
With the latest rescue, all the l3-man JMC group have been accounted for. One of the preachers was released earlier by the Abu Sayyaf.
However, the Abu Sayyaf is still holding hostage American Jeffrey Schilling, three Malaysians and a Filipino. Filipino Rolando Ullah was taken from the Malaysian diving resort of Sipadan on April 23 together with 20 other hostages.
Twenty of the 21 Sipadan hostages have been released after millions of US dollars were reportedly being paid to the rebel group.
With the members of the JMC now in safety, President Estrada expressed optimism that the hostage crisis in Mindanao is finally coming to an end, saying that "in one more week we will end this problem."
He lauded the members of the AFP and the Philippine National Police for their relentless efforts in running after the Abu Sayyaf members, as he urged them not to give up, until the group is crushed.
"I reiterate our commendation to our troops for their course and we hope that they will continue their valiant efforts so we can resolve this problem the soonest," said Estrada.
The president authorized the conduct of military operations to rescue the remaining hostages on September 16. Two French journalists managed to escape their captors on September 20 as a result of the military offensive.
Since the massive military operations started on September 16, 117 Abu Sayyaf members have been killed, 49 wounded and 53 captured in 40 armed clashes, 38 of which were initiated by the military.
On the military side, four soldiers were killed, including two during a clash in Barangay Mabahay, Talipao, on Monday. Twelve government troopers were also wounded.
More than 88,000 villagers have fled their homes to escape the fighting, according to the military.
The assault has taken much longer than the military had predicted, and Reyes admitted that he had underestimated the rebels' strength.
Military leaders have also acknowledged that they made a number of mistakes in the assault, which they originally predicted to take as little as three days.
The military expected the Abu Sayyaf to fight back instead of fleeing into the jungle, and did not foresee the amount of popular support it enjoyed on the predominantly Muslim island, they said.
The military estimates the Abu Sayyaf had about 4,000 armed men when the assault began from only 300 when the rebels began kidnapping hostages in April.
They said many recruits joined the Abu Sayyaf to share in the ransom money reportedly have been paid by Libya and Malaysia for the release of some hostages.
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