Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Kidnapped in the Philippines, former hostage tells his harrowing story

Kjartan Sekkingstad was held for ransom by Islamist militants and survived. Canadians John Ridsdel and Robert Hall did not

Sotra, NORWAY — Run, duck. Run, duck.
Deep in the jungles of Sulu province, in the southern Philippines islands, Kjartan Sekkingstad pushed through darkness in search of a way out.
It was April 2016, seven months after armed Islamist militants had kidnapped the Norwegian, along with two Canadian men and a Filipina woman, in a high profile hostage-for-ransom case.
Sekkingstad saw an opportunity to escape when Philippines military forces launched a surprise middle-of-the-night air assault on the group, sending his captors fleeing all directions.
“I got away from the guy who was watching me. He ran for cover himself. And I was sort of free,” Sekkingstad, then 56, said.
...“What can I say? We were all sad,” Sekkingstad said. “But we didn’t have time to mourn him, because we were so busy surviving … We were told right away, ‘You’re next! You’re next!”
Read more from the NationalPost.com [HERE].