Kidnapping of 22 in southern RP

Kidnapping of 22 in southern RP

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AFP): Muslim militants in the southern
Philippines kidnapped 22 men they accuse of drug trafficking, but
later freed 15 of them, officials said on Wednesday.

Their captors had been thought to be aligned to a major
guerrilla group, but President Joseph Estrada's spokesman
Fernando Barican described them on Wednesday as "remnants of
former rebel groups now involved in banditry."

The military said 22 men were detained in the southern city of
Marawi on Tuesday by a group calling itself the Maranao Islamic
Brotherhood. A military spokesmen earlier said 42 were held
captive.

Seven remained in the hands of their captors while the rest
were turned over to a "provincial crisis committee composed of
local officials, the military, and the separatist guerrilla group
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)," Barican said.