Gunmen abduct foreigners in Philippines
Unidentified gunmen have abducted three foreigners and a Filipino woman on a southern island in the Philippines, officials say.
The Philippines’ army said on Tuesday that a Norwegian resort manager, two Canadians, and the Filipino were abducted at gunpoint on the Samal Island late Monday.
The resort manager was identified as Kjartan Sekkingstad, and the two Canadians were named as John Ridsel and Robert Hall. Although the Filipino woman is said to be the wife of one of the Canadian men, her name has not been released.
“Four people were taken but we do not know what group was behind the attack,” the Philippines’ army Captain Alberto Caber said.
According to Caber, the four were taken on a motor boat from the resort near Davao City, which is the largest city on Mindanao Island.
Caber added that there were about 30 people at the resort at the time of the incident and that the foreigners were not taken at random.
Sources close to the incident said two Japanese tourists present at the time of the attack had attempted to intervene but failed.
An army commander said three navy ships had been sent to search and intercept the gunmen’s boat.
Troubled south
The southern Philippines has been dealing with militancy for years.
In 2001, the country’s Abu Sayyaf militant group made a failed attempt to abduct foreign tourists on Samal Island’s Pearl Farm resort, which resulted in the deaths of three security forces. In the early 2000s, the militants abducted dozens of foreigners and Filipinos from different resorts as part of a ransom-kidnapping spree.
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