Troops rescue housewife, 4 children

TROOPS from the Army’s 15th Infantry Battalion rescued a housewife and her four children in the province of Lanao del Norte, a top military official announced Saturday.

Major General Ricardo Rainier Cruz III, Army’s First Infantry Division commander, said the victims were rescued around 5 p.m. Thursday in the village of Mentering, Maigo, Lanao del Norte hours after a group of gunmen seized them.

Cruz did not identify the victims except in saying they are residents of Inoma village in the same municipality.

Investigation showed that at least five gunmen barged into the residence of the victims and seized them at gunpoint Thursday morning and brought them to the village of Mentering, Cruz said.

Upon receipt of the report, Cruz said the troops from the Army’s 15th Infantry Battalion launched a rescue operation and were able to catch up with the suspects around 5 p.m. Thursday.

A firefight ensued and the suspects fled in different directions leaving behind their captives sensing they were outnumbered and about to be cornered by the pursuing troops, he said.

There were no reported casualties both from the pursuing troops and the suspects, he said.

The troops immediately handover the rescued victims to the police in Maigo for further investigation and eventual filing of charges against the suspects, he said.

The motive of the abduction is believed to be land dispute, he added.