Police Rescue Canadian From Kidnapping Gang
Police rescued a Canadian man and killed two gunmen in a clash with a notorious kidnapping gang blamed for seizing several foreigners in recent months in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Regional Police Chief Bartolome Baluyot said officers killed two kidnappers as the police rescued Pierre Belanger, 50, after storming a hide-out of the gang known as the Pentagon in the village of Buenavista in Mindanao’s Davao del Norte province, 560 miles southeast of Manila.
Belanger, who has lived in a nearby province for 10 years with his wife, a Filipina, was reported seized Nov. 4 while traveling on a motorcycle in the area. He was handed over to the Canadian Embassy.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
