The Abu Sayyaf bandits released on Thursday, September 22, another Indonesian sailor they seized over a month ago in the high seas of Sabah, a military official said.
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Tan said the MNLF handed over Manggak to the Joint Task Force Sulu around 11 a.m. Thursday.
Tan said the victim was brought to Camp Teodulo Bautista Station Hospital for medical examination and debriefing before a formal turnover to Indonesian authorities at Western Mindanao Command.
Harman is a fisherman from Bulukumba, South Sulawesi, and was the captain on board a Malaysian-flagged fishing boat that was attacked by the armed Filipino militants in Malaysia’s Sabah waters on August 3.
“The release of the victim is the result of relentless focused military operations, combined with efforts of different sectors, particularly the local government unit of Sulu and other stakeholders”, dela Vega told reporters.
Talking to interpreters, Manggak asked for food and relayed how government troops almost rescued him three times as they engaged the ASG in fierce gun battles.
Between 17 and 18 September, the militant group released three Indonesian fisherman, who were kidnapped off Sabah in mid July.
A few hours before the release of the three Indonesian fishermen, the Abu Sayyaf bandits also freed Norwegian man Kjartan Sekkingstad they took hostage nearly a year ago in Davao del Norte province in the southern Philippines.
Five Indonesian sailors remain in captivity, held by the Philippine militant group that is notorious for extracting ransom payments in return for the lives of hostages.
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The Abu Sayyaf executed two Canadian men who were kidnapped along with Sekkingstad in a posh resort in Davao del Norte in September previous year.
