Lorenzo Vinciguerra fled Abu Sayyaf extremists after being held captive in the jungle near Patikul town in Sulu province.

He took advantage of a gun battle between soldiers and his captors on Saturday. He escaped and was later picked up by the soldiers, according to local military sources. He was wounded as he ran away.

"According to Vinciguerra, he took advantage of the situation by escaping from his abductors while the military units were conducting intensified law enforcement operation," according to regional military spokeswoman, Captain Rowena Muyuela.

"But he was shot by the other Abu Sayyaf members, resulting in his injuries," she added.

Vinciguerra was abducted with Dutch national Elwold Horn in the nearby province of Tawi-Tawi during a birdwatching trip in February 2012.

German couple Stefan Viktor Okonek and Henrike Dielen were released by Abu Sayyaf last October. Okonek, a 73-year-old doctor and Dielen, 55, were seized in April 2014 from their yacht sailing the sea between the western Philippines and Malaysia. They were taken to the island of Sulu in Mindanao before their release was negotiated.

Abu Sayyaf is based in and around Jolo and Basilan and has been involved in the decades-long fight for an independent province. It is on the US State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

jm/av (AP, dpa, AFP)