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Fighters holding three Red Cross workers hostage in the southern Philippines have agreed to release one of their captives in return for the military pulling back its forces, officials have said.
The army said on Thursday it had agreed to the move in exchange for a pledge from a commander of the Abu Sayyaf group to free one of the aid workers it kidnapped more than two months ago.
"We will reposition our troops as necessary to allow the exhaustion of other peaceful means for the safe release of the victims," Ernesto Torres, a military spokesman, said in a statement.
He said the safety of the aid workers, who have been held hostage on the southern island of Jolo, "remains the paramount concern".
The aid workers - Swiss national Andreas Notter, Eugenio Vagni, from Italy, and Mary Jean Lacaba, a Filipino national - were kidnapped on January 15 and are believed to be held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf group.
Al Jazeera's Marga Ortigas reporting from the southern Philippines said a release is expected soon.
"There has been no confirmation of an exact date or time, but our sources have told us that according to those holding the aid workers, a release is imminent," she aid.
Speaking to reporters in Manila, Richard Gordon, the head of the Philippines Red Cross, said he had convinced Parad in a phone call to promise to release one of the hostages if troops pull back from the area.
Earlier this week a series of intense clashes broke out on the southern island of Jolo between soldiers and fighters thought to be holding the hostages.
The military said up to nine people, including three soldiers, were killed and dozens wounded but it said the fighting was not an attempt to free the hostages.
They said the clashes broke out when the fighters tried to break out of a military cordon around the area.
Military officials said they later found a tent belonging to the three aid workers.
PHOTO CAPTION
Map of the Philippines locating Indanan, where Abu Sayyaf group and their three Red Cross hostages are located.
Agencies
