A hostage of Maute extremists in Marawi City claims he escaped beheading twice as military airstrikes interrupted his execution.
The beheading survivor narrated to ABC-CBN News that his captors were executing three hostages daily and he was among the 18 captives being used as human shield.
During their three days in captivity, the hostage said four captives were beheaded, one a Maranao and three Visayan. He was shown the head of the executed Maranao.
One day, he was lined up for beheading when the place, Mapandi, was bombed by warplanes.
The militants halted the execution and brought the hostages back inside a house where they were holed up.
The militants resumed the execution the following day. He was already handcuffed and was about to be beheaded when another aerial bombing happened.
He and the other hostages took advantage of the confusion that ensued during the airstrike and escaped from their captors. They jumped into a river and swam towards a safe zone.
One of the hostages, who could not swim, did not make it to the safe zone, ABS-CBN News reports.
credit: AFP Will Rise
