Briton, Filipino hostages safe after troops clash with Islamist rebels

Soldiers in the southern Philippines rescued a British man and a Filipino woman from members of an Islamist militant group, the army said on Monday, after their captors fled during a military operation. The couple, Allan and Wilma Hyrons, were abducted at gunpoint on Oct. 4 from the resort they ran in a neighboring province and were now being looked after at a military camp.

A photograph issued by the army showed the couple unharmed and eating a meal. The kidnappers were members of Abu Sayyaf, a group that operates in the Sulu archipelago and has extremist factions loyal to Islamic State, and linked to at least five suicide bombings in the region in the past 16 months.

Abu Sayyaf is much feared for its banditry, piracy and kidnap-for-ransom business, with targets that include Europeans and seamen from Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Some hostages were held for years and beheaded when the ransom was not paid, among them a German and two Canadians. The Philippines does not disclose when demands for their release are met.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has poured more troops into the region to try to wipe out Abu Sayyaf. The group remains influential among local clans and a formidable opponent, with a small and well-equipped network that operates in the jungles of Basilan and Jolo islands. On Saturday, the army said it had killed a man it believed to be central to the group's planning of suicide bombings and its coordination with Islamic State. 

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