Suspected al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines have freed a mayor after seven months of captivity in a southern jungle.
Regional army spokesman Captain Alberto Caber said Jeffrey Lim, 36, was freed before dawn yesterday near Zamboanga city and has been handed over to his family.
Lim had been missing since April 2 when at least 10 gunmen disguised as policemen kidnapped him while having dinner with his family near a bus terminal in the town of Salug.
From Salug, he was believed to have been brought by boat to the jungles of nearby Basilan Island, where Abu Sayyaf was founded, Caber said.
Jesus Lim, the mayor's father, said that an ransom had been paid to the kidnappers through a negotiator to secure the release of his son, who had a tearful reunion with his wife and three children.
Apart from bruises on his feet from walking barefoot in the jungle and weight loss, the freed mayor was well and would resume his work, said Lim.