Philippine troops have rescued two Indonesian hostages after a firefight that killed five of their Islamist militant captors, a military commander says.
Five soldiers were wounded in the clash with Abu Sayyaf terrorists in a village in the town of Talipao on Jolo island, 1000km south of Manila, Brigadier General Cirilito Sobejana said on Thursday.
"Shortly after, the hostages were recovered in a vehicle in a nearby town where we had intensified the checkpoint following the firefight," he said.
The Indonesian hostages - Saparuddin Koni and Sawal Maryam - were believed to have been able to escape during the clash.
The two Indonesians were fishermen abducted by Abu Sayyaf militants in November from a Malaysian-registered boat near Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah.
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The militants are still holding captive more than a dozen hostages in Jolo and the nearby province of Basilan.
The Abu Sayyaf is one of the most notorious and violent militant groups in the southern Philippines.
One of its leaders, Isnilon Hapilon, has been identified as the head of Islamic State-allied militants fighting troops in Marawi City since May 23.
