The hostages in this screen shot of the IS website. (Mindanao Examiner Photo -Moh Saaduddin)
Local jihadists allied with the Islamic State militant group have freed four civilians they abducted following a series of government negotiations, but the fate of two others remains unknown.
The four hostages – Julieto Hanobas, Alfredo Anoos, Gabriel Permites and Adones Mendez – were released recently in Butig town in Lanao del Sur.
Their two missing companions have been identified as Salvador Hanobas and Makol Hanobas, both men were branded as spy by their abductors and believed killed.
The civilians, all sawmill workers, were seized by jihadists led by Abdullah Maute alias Abu Hasan, who heads the Dawlah Islamiyah or Islamic State on suspicion they were government spies. Maute’s group is actively operating in the province.
Maute previously demanded the release of a 13-year old boy, Ayman, who was allegedly captured by the military in firefight in exchange for the hostages, but security officials insisted that no prisoners were taken by soldiers in Lanao del Sur, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
Prior to the release of the hostages, the jihadist group also uploaded photos of the hostages wearing orange jumpsuit suit on the IS website.
http://mindanaoexaminer.com/jihadists-free-4-hostages-in-southern-philippines/
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