Briton, Filipino hostages safe after troops clash with Islamist rebels

MANILA: Soldiers in the southern Philippines rescued a British man and a Filipino woman from members of an Islamist militant group, the army said on Monday (Nov 25), after their captors fled during a military operation.

The couple, Allan and Wilma Hyrons, were abducted at gunpoint on Oct 4 from the resort they ran in a neighbouring province and were now being looked after at a military camp.

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A photograph issued by the army showed the couple unharmed and eating a meal.

The kidnappers were members of Abu Sayyaf, a group that operates in the Sulu archipelago and has extremist factions loyal to Islamic State, and linked to at least five suicide bombings in the region in the past 16 months.

Abu Sayyaf is much feared for its banditry, piracy and kidnap-for-ransom business, with targets that include Europeans and seamen from Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. Some hostages were held for years and beheaded when ransom was not paid, among them a German and two Canadians.

The Philippines does not disclose when demands for their release are met.

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