Police rescue kidnapped Chinese trader in Sulu

Philippine police said they have rescued a Chinese businessman who was held by al-Qaeda-linked militants for over a year on a southern island. Chief Inspector Amil Banaan of Sulu provincial police said Xili Wu was rescued in a village outside Luuk township on Jolo island. He said Wu used the alias Peter Go to hide his illegal status in the country. A Luuk police report said officers rescued Wu following a brief clash late Monday with Abu Sayyaf gunmen. Banaan said Tuesday that Xili was seized December 2008 from an appliance store he and other relatives opened in Jolo township, the provincial capital. A separate television report Tuesday quoted Senior Superintendent Elmer Escosia, the commander of police forces in Sulu, as saying police clashed with the kidnappers in Lambago village at around 8.30 p.m. Monday. But attempts by other journalists to get more details about Xili's rescue were not entertained by Escosia. Another police official confirmed that Xili was rescued by commandos, and that the foreigner would be brought to Zamboanga City after authorities get information from the Chinese man about his captors led by Commander Saji. Xili’s group had lived in Jolo since early 2008. His four business partners fled to Jolo weeks after the kidnapping. Police had previously tagged Albader Parad for the kidnapping. Parad’s group originally demanded P25 million for the trader's release, but later lowered it to P10 million. Parad, tagged as the mastermind of the kidnappings of three international Red Cross workers in Sulu in 2009, and behind four deadly terrorist attacks in the province, was one of six Abu Sayyaf leaders killed in military operations in February this year. The Abu Sayyaf, which the police and military claimed has more than 300 gunmen, has been blamed for a string of high-profile kidnappings for ransom, including Americans and Europeans. — AP with a report from Al Jacinto/LBG, GMANews.TV