A Swiss national who was held hostage by Abu Sayyaf Islamist extremists escaped on Saturday after nearly three years of captivity in the jungles of Philippines.
Lorenzo Vinciguerra, 49, managed to run away after Filipino forces fired at their camp in the jungle located in Sulu province.
Vinciguerra was kidnapped in February 2012 along with another European hostage. It is not clear if the other hostage also escaped.
He reportedly hacked one of the militant commanders in his bid to escape and was shot and wounded before he could reach to a safe place.
Filipino army scout rangers found the wounded Swiss and rescued him.
He was wounded but he's well and recovering in a hospital," regional military commander Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero told The Associated Press.
The Abu Sayyaf militant group shot into prominence in the 1990s as they waged jihad against the Roman Catholic-dominated nation.
It was listed as a terrorist group by the United States for attacking American troops and tourists.
The group is fighting for an independent Islamic province in the country and is reportedly been backed by the Al-Qaeda.
Abu Sayyaf militants had recently pledged support to the Islamic State, or ISIS, which has declared a caliphate in the Middle East.
