Troops rescue abducted Fil-Swiss trader in Zamboanga City

After more than two months in captivity, Filipino-Swiss businessman Carl Rieth was rescued by security forces before dawn Wednesday in Zamboanga City, officials said.

Freed Filipino-Swiss Carl Rieth, 72, waves inside an ambulance in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines. Police said Reith, kidnapped by suspected Moro rebels on April 4 from his beach house in Patalon village, was rescued by security forces Wednesday, June 16, 2010 in the coastal village of Labuan in Zamboanga City. Al Jacinto

In an interview on GMA News' Unang Hirit, Mayor Celso Lobregat said government troops rescued the 72-year-old Reith at about 3 a.m. in the village of Labuan. He stressed that no ransom was paid in exchange for Rieth's freedom. "I was able to talk to him (Rieth) already. He is alright. He has lost a lot of weight, but he is in good spirit. He said, 'I don't want to face anybody yet. I want to rest and recover.' He will let me know when he will be ready," said Lobregat, chair of the crisis management committee tasked to secure Rieth's freedom. Lobregat added that the identities of the abductors are still being confirmed as the government continues to launch pursuit operations against them. Meanwhile, military Task Force Trilium commander Rear Admiral Alex Palma said the businessman's captors "panicked and ran" when they saw the police and military deployment, leaving Rieth behind. “They (kidnappers) were cornered so they left him...Our troops monitored them and intercepted them. As of now, there are ongoing [pursuit] operations," Pama said. Last April 4, gunmen wearing police uniforms abducted Rieth from his home along the coastal area of Patalon village in Zamboanga City. Earlier, police tagged the Abu Sayyaf behind the kidnapping, while local military leaders said Moro Islamic Liberation Front sub-leader Malista Malanca and Abu Sayyaf leader Khair Mundos planned the kidnapping in Al-Barka, Basilan. Abductors supposedly carried out the kidnapping by disguising as policemen and threatening to arrest Rieth over drug charges. — Sophia Dedace/LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV