Dutch Man, Captive for 7 Years, Dies as Philippines Troops Try to Free Him

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/31/world/asia/philippines-hostage-killed.html

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MANILA — A Dutch hostage held by Muslim militants in the southern Philippines for seven years was killed by his captors on Friday as he tried to escape during a bloody rescue attempt by the military, officials said.

The hostage, Ewold Horn, 59, had been seized along with a Swiss national while the two were bird watching on the remote southern island of Tawi-Tawi in 2012. They were taken by Abu Sayyaf militants across the strait to Jolo, an island where the gunmen are well entrenched, with their camps situated deep inside nearly impenetrable jungle terrain.

The Swiss hostage, Lorenzo Vinciguerra, managed to escape nearly three years later by grabbing his guard’s knife and stabbing him in the neck as the militants came under attack from military forces. He then fled his captors and was rescued by the army.

But Mr. Horn was not so lucky.

“What a pity. He nearly escaped, but was shot,” said Col. Gerry Besana, a spokesman for the military’s Western Mindanao Command. “He was shot by his guards while trying to escape amid the firefight.”

The military assault early Friday, which took place near a mountain village in the town of Patikul, also killed Mingayan Sahiron, the wife of Radulan Sahiron, a senior Abu Sayyaf leader, and six other militants.

The violence came less than a week after Abu Sayyaf militants attacked a group of soldiers and civilians discussing development projects in Patikul, leaving two children dead, and five months after insurgents bombed a cathedral in Jolo, killing 23 people.

Brig. Gen. Divino Rey Pabayo, the head of Joint Task Force Sulu, said the military had been tracking the Abu Sayyaf militants based on information provided by civilian informants. He said Mr. Horn’s death had resulted from Abu Sayyaf’s “barbaric acts.”

“We are angered by the A.S.G.’s utter disregard for human rights that they would rather murder Mr. Ewold Horn rather than be recovered by government forces,” he said, using the military’s abbreviation for the group.

The general said that troops had tried their best to safely recover the hostage, but that Friday’s firefight was too intense and lasted for nearly two hours. He vowed to bring the militants to justice for the church bombing and for the death of Mr. Horn.