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| Southeast Asia |
| 1 of 5 Abu hostages in Basilan freed, says military official |
| 2008-06-27 |
| One of five electric cooperative employees seized by alleged Abu Sayyaf extremists in the southern province of Basilan was freed Thursday evening, after about nine hours in captivity, a military commander in the area said. Ronnie Tansiyung was freed somewhere outside Tuburan town at around 7 p.m., said Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Vincent Teodoro, commander of the 7th Marine Battalion Landing Team. The Moro extremists released Tansiyung because, like them, he is a member of the Yakan tribe, which is prominent in the southwest, Teodoro said in a phone interview. "He was the only Yakan member among the five," Teodoro said of Tansiyung. The five employees of the Basilan Electric Cooperative (Baselco) were seized in Sinulatan village by armed men, while they were on board a service vehicle, at around 10 a.m. Thursday. |
| Posted by:Fred |