ZAMBOANGA CITY, 10 March 2004 — Police and military forces rescued a seven-year old girl being held by suspected members of the extremist Abu Sayyaf gang in the southern island of Jolo, officials said.
Policemen, backed by soldiers, swooped down before dawn on the remote village of Jingan in Talipao town and rescued Rachel Guhit after 20 days in captivity, said Chief Superintendent Isnaji Bantala, police chief in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Bantala said the captors escaped when they saw the security forces, leaving the girl inside a small thatched hut.
“There was no firefight and the victim was recovered safely and our forces are now running after the kidnappers in the hinterlands,” Bantala told Arab News.
He said town police chief Rudy Yusop led the raid in the village after several days of surveillance. “The hideout was tracked down after a week-long surveillance operation. The girl is fine and was immediately taken at an army base in Jolo where doctors examined her,” he said. Security forces yesterday mounted fresh operation to track down the kidnappers.
