Philippine troops free four Indonesian hostages, kill Abu Sayyaf leader ‘Apo Mike’

Majan Sahidjuan, alias Apo Mike, was among five militants whose boat capsized last week with the kidnap victims aboard, according to the military

Three of the four hostages were rescued from the sea. The fourth, a 15-year-old, was found at the site of the gun battle where Sahidjuan was fatally hurt

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The kidnap victims attend a press conference at Western Mindanao Command headquarters in Zamboanga City, southern Philippines, on Sunday. Photo: EPA

Published: 7:00am, 22 Mar 2021Updated: 7:00am, 22 Mar 2021

Philippine troops have killed a leader of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group and rescued four Indonesian hostages held since last year.

Majan Sahidjuan, alias Apo Mike, was severely wounded in a gun battle with the marines on Saturday night in Languyan town in southern Tawi-Tawi province, and later died, said Lieutenant General Corleto Vinluan Jnr.

He described Sahidjuan as the mastermind in several kidnappings by Abu Sayyaf, which is based in Sulu and has also been involved in bomb attacks and piracy for decades. Since 2014, it has proclaimed allegiance to Islamic State.

One of the four Indonesian kidnap victims receives medical attention at a military hospital in Zamboanga City, southern Philippines, on Sunday. Photo: EPA

“We are happy that all the hostages are safe now and we are also able to neutralise the notorious ‘Apo Mike’ and two of his comrades,” said Vinluan, commander of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, on Sunday.

Sahidjuan was among five Abu Sayyaf militants who went to Tawi-Tawi by boat from Sulu, with their four Indonesian kidnap victims last Thursday.