Indonesia says 7 tugboat crew members abducted in Philippines

Catherine Garcia, The Week US's avatar
By
published
Reno Marsudi.
(Image credit: Suryo Wibowo/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesia's foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, said Friday that seven crewmen of a tugboat towing a coal barge were abducted when their ship was hijacked in Philippine waters.

Marsudi said the government will do everything it can to get the hostages freed, and six crew members have been released along with the vessel and are headed back to Indonesia. No organization has taken responsibility for the abduction, but previous kidnappings in the area have been pinned on the Abu Sayyaf militant group.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Catherine Garcia, The Week US
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.