Three prison inmates allegedly linked to Abu Sayyaf militants have escaped from a jail in southern Philippines, a local official said Friday, Xinhua reported.
The jailbreak occurred around 2:00 a.m. Friday (1800 GMT) at the North Cotabato provincial jail in Kidapawan city, provincial governor Jesus Sacdalan said.
Sacdalan said among the inmates was a certain Muhalidin Sulaik Hassan, who was arrested in 2007 for his involvement in the shopping mall bombing in the region. Other escapees were Salahudin Limpangan who was charged of kidnapping for ransom and Khaddafy Sagandingan who is facing a number of motorcycle theft cases.
"They destroyed the back portion of their prison cell. There is an ongoing operation to recapture them," Sacdalan said.
The 370-member Abu Sayyaf group, a listed international terrorist organization, has been accused of engineering a series of bloody public attacks and kidnappings in the Philippines in recent years.
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