Philippine soldiers on Monday rescued a British man and his wife from Islamic State-linked jihadists nearly two months after the couple was kidnapped from their beach resort in the nation’s south, authorities said. Troops recovered the pair after a firefight with gunmen from the Abu Sayyaf group on the restive southern island of Jolo, which is a stronghold of the kidnap-for-ransom gang that has been behind some of the worst attacks in the Philippines. “There was a brief exchange of fire, but they later abandoned the couple after being overwhelmed by pursuing government forces,” Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana told AFP, adding the hostages were unharmed.
