Nigerian troops battling militants in the country’s Niger Delta oil region said Thursday they had rescued two more Filipino hostages, bringing the total number of Filipinos rescued in the past week to 11.
Col. Rabe Abubakar, spokesman for the military Joint Task Force (JTF) which Friday launched a military offensive against the militants, said the two Filipinos were rescued on Wednesday along Chanomi Creek in Delta state.
Earlier, the troops had rescued nine Filipinos and four Nigerians following their raid against Camp 5 of the militants, who took 15 Filipino crew members hostage last Wednesday when they hijacked two vessels in the region.
The region’s largest militant group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claimed two hostages, suspected to be Filipinos, have been shot dead by the troops, and that it had two more in its custody. The military denied it has killed any hostage.
If the MEND’s claim is true, that means all the Filipino hostages have now been accounted for.
Abubakar said the troops have also freed 4 Ukrainians long taken hostage by the militants.