MANILA -- Police said gunmen with ties to al-Qaeda-linked bandits have freed two Malaysian laborers from 10 months of jungle captivity.

Philippine National Police chief Raul Bacalzo said police commandos found the two near Bongao town in southernmost Tawi-Tawi island province late Tuesday.

He said the gunmen linked to the notorious kidnap and terrorist group Abu Sayyaf abandoned the hostages after they were encircled by government forces.

The hostages were seized last February 8 from a seaweed farm in Malaysia's Sabah state and whisked away in a speedboat to nearby Philippine waters in a pattern similar to past kidnappings blamed on the Abu Sayyaf. (AP)