Hostage freed by Abu Sayyaf says he is ‘lucky to be alive’

MANILA, Philippines (Eagle News) — Messages of thanks are rolling in for the Philippine government and President Rodrigo Duterte after months of negotiation and weeks of fighting with Abu Sayyaf militants finally paid off last weekend.

The first message of thanks came from Kjartan Sekkingstad, the Norwegian resort manager who spent nearly a year in captivity after he was nabbed along with three others from Samal Island last September.