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Footage captures the moment civilians were freed after a week in captivity, as Catharina Moh reports
Dozens of civilians held by Muslim rebels in a stand-off in the Philippine south have been freed, as rebels seized a senior policeman, reports say.
The military said they had taken 70% of areas held by fighters from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Zamboanga city on Tuesday.
But rebels captured the local police chief, Jose Chiquito Malayo, as he was trying to negotiate with them.
The MNLF have been holed up in villages in Zamboanga since 9 September.
Troops have been engaging in gun battles with the rebels, who have been using civilians as human shields.
A military spokesman said that they had been able to rescue 116 people on Tuesday "due to pressure from our troops on the ground".
It remained unclear, however, how many more civilians were being held as the stand-off continued.
Television reports showed exhausted hostages boarding buses taking them away from the front line after being released or escaping.
Mr Malayo was captured along with his bodyguards and possibly taken to another island, local media report.
The government is conducting efforts to rescue him, officials say.
The death toll since the fighting began has risen to close to 100 - most of them rebels, according to the authorities.
Some 70,000 residents have been displaced by the fighting in the southern city in Mindanao. On Monday, Philippine forces carried out helicopter airstrikes on rebel-held areas.
The MNLF is one of a number of splinter groups fighting for independence from Manila.
It is thought the MNLF are angry at being sidelined from peace talks between another Muslim rebel group and the government.
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