Swiss hostage escapes Islamic militants in Philippines

AFP:

A Swiss man kidnapped by Islamic militants in the Philippines nearly three years ago escaped on Saturday after a fierce struggle with one of his captors over a machete and a frantic run to freedom under gunfire, the military said.

Lorenzo Vinciguerra took advantage of a pre-dawn assault by soldiers on his Abu Sayyaf abductors in the jungles of a remote southern island to make his bold escape, the local military spokeswoman told AFP.

"One of them (gunmen) caught up with him as he was running away and there was a scuffle over his machete," spokeswoman Captain Rowena Muyuela said.

"Vinciguerra was slashed on the cheek but he stabbed the other man in the head... then the bandits shot at him but he got away."

A Dutch man who was abducted with Vinciguerra, Ewold Horn, was unable to run away because he was too frail and is believed to still be a captive, Muyuela said.

Local military commander Colonel Alan Arrojado said his troops, acting on a tip, had been able to track the gunmen on Jolo island, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf about 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) south of Manila.
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The Abu Sayyaf were founded with seed money provided by al Qaeda.  It is believed that the man who tried to stop the escapee did not survive.  The US helped to train the Philippine Army in counterinsurgency operations and it appears they put that training to good use with the patrol that led to this escape..