Muslim Extremists Free Abductees after Philippine Army Chase

A Muslim extremist group known for beheading some victims has released a group of kidnapped road workers following an intense police and military pursuit in the southern Philippines, an official said Tuesday.

The 11 hostages were seized by the Abu Sayyaf on Monday while on their way to work at a road project funded by the government on the remote island of Basilan.

Two slipped away soon after their abduction while the rest were abandoned by the kidnappers after a six-hour pursuit by police and soldiers, said Senior Superintendent Oscar Nantes, the island's police chief.

"The Abu Sayyaf group were pressured to abandon and release their victims to divert the attention of the security forces," Nantes told reporters.

None of the victims was harmed, he said, adding the hunt for the gunmen was continuing.

He said the Abu Sayyaf, a loose band of several hundred men set up in the 1990s with seed money from the Al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, has been harassing the road project and demanding extortion payments.

The group engages in kidnappings to finance operations, often targeting Christians and foreigners and sometimes beheading captives if ransoms are not paid.

A Filipino village official abducted by the Abu Sayyaf was found beheaded on a highway in the island of Jolo last month, while two coast guard men also held by the extremists escaped during a military assault.

Nine earlier hostages, including foreigners, remain in the Abu Sayyaf's hands, authorities say.