MANILA, Philippines (AP) – Abu Sayyaf extremists on Saturday freed a Norwegian man kidnapped a year ago in the southern Philippines along with two Canadians who were later beheaded and a Filipino woman who has been released by the ransom-seeking militants, officials said.
Kjartan Sekkingstad was freed in Patikul town in Sulu province and was eventually secured by rebels from the larger Moro National Liberation Front, which has a signed a peace deal with the government and helped negotiate his release, officials said.
Sekkingstad, held in jungle captivity since being kidnapped last September, was to stay overnight at the house of Moro National Liberation Front chairman Nur Misuari in Sulu and then meet with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday, said Jesus Dureza, who advises Duterte on peace talks with insurgent groups.
Dureza said that when he spoke on the phone with Sekkingstad, the Norwegian expressed his gratitude to Duterte.
A plan to fly Sekkingstad out of Sulu, a jungle-clad Muslim region about 950 kilometers (590 miles) south of Manila, was canceled Saturday because of bad weather, Dureza said.