Hostage swims to freedom after fleeing from ISIS captivity in the Philippines

An Indonesian hostage held in the Philippines by the country’s bloodthirsty Islamic State faction swam his way to freedom, but another escaped man drowned and a third from Malaysia was shot in the back while fleeing.

The two Indonesians and the Malaysian separately got free from the Abu Sayyaf terror cell just as Philippine marines were attempting to rescue them on the Simusa island in southern Sulu province in the last two days, officials said Saturday.

But three more hostages are still being held by Sayyaf, which is blacklisted by the US and the Philippines as a terrorist organization because of its brutal history of bombings, ransom kidnappings, extortion and beheadings, said a local military spokesman.

The remaining captives include a Dutch bird watcher, Elwold Horn, who was kidnapped by the militants in 2012, and two Filipinos.

Indonesian Heri Ardiansyah was plucked from the waters by marines on board a gunboat while they recovered the body of his companion, Hariadin, who drowned.

The marines gunned down three Abu Sayyaf captors who were trying to chase the two Indonesians at sea, military officials said.

The Malaysian, who was identified by the military as Jari Bin Abudullah, was shot by the militants when he ran away Thursday as marines tried to rescue him and engaged his captors in a gun battle.

Government forces surrounded Simusa island, where a small community thrives near mangroves, to hunt down the remaining Abu Sayyaf gunmen.

The Malaysian was airlifted to Zamboanga city, where he was in critical condition in a hospital, military officials said.

Source: NYP