BASILAN, Philippines - Government troops rescued a tugboat chief engineer Monday night from the captivity of the Abu Sayyaf group in the coastal town of Basilan, according to security officials. Col. Juvymax Uy, chief of the Joint Task Force Basilan (JTFB), said Laurencio Tiro, chief engineer of Super Shuttle T/B 1, was rescued about 10:30 p.m. Monday at Sitio Sasa, Barangay Basakan, Hadji Mohammad Ajul town. Tiro was rescued barely three days when his tugboat captain, Aurelio Agac-ac, was rescued last Saturday dawn also near the area. Agac-ac and Tiro were seized aboard their tugboat steaming alongside Super Shuttle 9 last Thursday at the seawaters off Sibago Island, Basilan by a group of armed men suspected to be members of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group. Galvez also lauded the local government units for leading the rescue and offensive operations against the Abu Sayyaf group in their respective areas.

Source: Philippine Star March 28, 2017 03:22 UTC