Pinay hostage Marites Flor released last night by Abu Sayyaf

From Coconuts Manila (Jun 24): Pinay hostage Marites Flor released last night by Abu Sayyaf

The lone Filipina part of the group abducted by the Abu Sayyaf from a resort on Samal island in Sep 2015 was released on the evening of Thu, Jun 23. 

It is not clear if ransom was paid for her freedom.

According to CNN Philippines, Marites Flor is now under the custody of Sulu Gov. Abdusakar “Totoh” Tan II.

Flor was abducted together with Canadians Robert Hall and John Ridsdel, who have both executed by the militant group, and Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad, who is believed to still be alive and being held by the group.

Founded in the early 1990s with seed money from Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, the Abu Sayyaf gained international notoriety for kidnapping dozens of foreign tourists for ransom in the early 2000s.

The group has also been blamed for the country's worst terrorist attacks, including the bombing of a ferry off Manila Bay in 2004 that killed more than 100 people.

It is believed to have just a few hundred gunmen, but thrives in lawless sections of the southern Philippines where Muslim rebels have for decades fought for independence or autonomy.

The Abu Sayyaf is known to be holding three other foreigners -- two Malaysians and a Dutch man, according to the military.

An Italian ex-priest, Rolando del Torchio, was also abducted from his pizza restaurant in the southern port city of Dipolog last month.

The Abu Sayyaf is widely believed to be holding him, but authorities have not confirmed this.

And a 74-year-old South Korean kidnapped in January was found dead on Jolo at the weekend. The military said the Abu Sayyaf abandoned the hostage after he died from a "severe illness".

Philippine military spokesman Colonel Restituto Padilla declined to comment to AFP on Wednesday about the new video.

The Philippine government has repeatedly said it has a "no-ransom policy". But parties linked to captives frequently pay.

In October last year, the Abu Sayyaf claimed it received 250 million pesos ($5.3 million) in exchange for two German hostages they held captive for six months. Security analysts said a large ransom was paid.

http://manila.coconuts.co/2016/06/24/pinay-hostage-marites-flor-released-last-night-abu-sayyaf