AFP troops from the Army’s 2nd Special Forces Battalion have saved the kidnapped British national and his wife.
Government troops rescued the businessman Allan Arthur Hyrons and Welma Paglinawan-Hyrons before 9 a.m. after a firefight with Abu Sayyaf troops took around 10 minutes. Bandits fleed away and leave the couple n the town of Parang, Sulu.
According to regional military commander Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, the rescue of the couple is a result of three days of increased military operations in the area where even members of the Abu Sayyaf were killed in different encounters including the suspected liaison of the Islamic State to the Abu Sayyaf Group, Talha Jumsah.
Sobejana said the Philippine Army’s 2nd Special Forces Battalion took the couple for medical checkups and debriefing. The couple were kidnapped from their beach resort in neighboring Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur last October.