MANILA, 22 April 2005 — Government troops aided by forces of the separatist MILF yesterday rescued more than a dozen villagers who were abducted in the southern province of Lanao del Sur, military officials said.

At least two of the kidnappers and a police officer were killed in the shootout, which eventually forced the bandits to abandon their hostages and flee, said Brig. Gen. Ben Dolorfino of the Philippines Marines.

“All the hostages are now accounted for and government forces are pursuing the rest of the bandits,” he told Arab News yesterday afternoon.

Among those were 11 women, some of whom were en route to take a college entrance exam at the state-run Mindanao State University in Marawi City, officials said.

The freed captives, shaken and bruised after they were forced to hike at gunpoint through a mountainous rain forest near Piagapo town, were escorted to a military camp, where they were given food and a place to rest, Dolorfino said.

Troops were pursuing at least eight other kidnappers in Lanao del Sur, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) south of Manila, he said.

The captives, mostly female university students, were traveling in a jeepney in nearby Saguiran town when armed men commandeered the vehicle and herded them into a hinterland area, said marine Col. Arman Melo.

The gunmen, who were also Muslims, picked out and immediately released eight veiled Muslim women among the 22 passengers. The rest of the Christian captives were taken away aboard the jeep and forced to hike in a mountain jungle, said a freed student, Angelique Arellano.

An old man, who could no longer walk because of exhaustion and injuries, was beaten up by the kidnappers and left in a shallow ravine, where troops rescued him, she said.

“They were pointing their gun at us while ordering us to walk faster because the troops were catching up on us. They threatened to kill all of us if the troops got near,” Arellano told The Associated Press by telephone from a military camp.

“I prayed and prayed. I thought I wouldn’t make it. I saw some of them carrying long knives and I was afraid they would use that to chop off my head,” she said.

Marines and police caught up with the kidnappers, triggering a firefight that forced the abductors to flee and leave their captives behind. “The soldiers yelled at us to drop to the ground and calm down as gunshots rang out,” Arellano said.

Young Bandits

Muslim guerrillas belonging to the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front MILF), which is engaged in peace talks with the government, helped pursue the kidnappers and blocked their path, Melo said.

Dolorfino said marines and police quickly traced the kidnappers’ path based on objects, including pens and water bottles, that were dropped by the captives.

The freed captives told military officers that the kidnappers were young bandits, Melo said.

The abductors were apparently not affiliated with any prominent crime group, and authorities initially worried that they may turn over their victims to one of the notorious criminal gangs or other guerrillas in exchange for cash, he added.