REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Three Indonesian citizens that have been held hostage by an armed group in the Philippines since early in 2017 have been released. A foreign ministry official confirmed the news here on Sunday.

"It is true. They have been released. Thank God," Director for Citizen Protection Lalu Muhammad Iqbal said in a text message received by Antara.

According to AP, the three citizens - Hamdan Salim, Subandi Sattuh and Sudarlan Samansung - were released on Friday with the help of Moro National Liberation Front, a rebel group that has signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government.

Also read: Two Indonesian hostages in Philippines are free: Retno Marsudi

They were planned to be handed over to the Indonesian embassy in Zamboanga, Iqbal said adding "we would explain the details later."

The three were seized by a militant armed group while sailing near Sabah, Malaysia, on January 2017 and were then taken to their hiding place in a forest in Sulu, South Philippines.

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