[Star] A Malaysian and two Indonesians held by Abu Sayyaf militants are safe after the rebels trying to escape from Jolo island were caught in a gunfight with the Philippine military earlier this week.It has been learned that the group with the hostages were trying to flee Jolo when the military closed in on the group on Simisa island, off Jolo, on Wednesday. Soldiers managed to capture a pair of insurgents and killed a militant during the clash at Simisa. The captured pair were identified as Nurlinda Sulaiman and her husband, Abdu Mohammad.
However, the Abu Sayyaf gunmen led by the notorious kidnapper Salip Mura managed to return to their hideout. The three captives are unharmed, and the gunmen have brought them back to the Panamao area (Jolo), a regional intelligence source said.
The three fishermen – Malaysian Jari Abdullah, and Indonesians Heri Ardiansyah, and Hariadin – were taken from their fishing trawler in the Kinabatangan side of the Pegasus Reefs that borders southern Philippines.