[Aljazeera] British man and his Filipino wife were rescued unharmed after 10-minute gun battle with members of armed group.Philippine troops on Monday rescued a British man and his Filipino wife who were abducted from a southern beach resort last month by gunmen linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) and taken to their jungle hideouts.
Regional military commander Lt Gen Cirilito Sobejana said troops caught up with the Abu Sayyaf captors of Allan Hyrons and his wife, Wilma, in the mountainous hinterlands of Parang town in Sulu province and rescued the couple after a fight.
"There was a running gun battle," Sobejana said. "They left the two behind because they could not drag them any more. They scampered in different directions but our troops are in pursuit."
The Hyrons were not hurt in the 10-minute exchange of fire, the military said, adding that no ransom had been paid to the group.