Philippine gunmen raid tourist resort, kidnap 20

Philippine gunmen raid tourist resort, kidnap 20

PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines (Agencies): Gunmen believed to be
the Abu Sayyaf rebels seized 20 people including two American
missionaries in a dawn raid on a tourist resort in the southern
Philippines on Sunday, officials said.

A third American and 17 Filipinos were also seized in the raid
on Dos Palmas resort off Palawan island.

Hours after the attack, a motorboat thought to be carrying the
gunmen and their hostages was spotted by military aircraft near
the maritime border with Malaysia, said national security adviser
Roilo Golez.

"We are conducting pursuit operations... We have deployed navy
vessels in the area," Golez said. "They are traveling slowly
apparently because of the many people on board."

Manila had told Kuala Lumpur that the gunmen might try to slip
into Malaysian territory "and the Malaysian navy is stepping up
its border patrol", a military spokesman said.

Two of the kidnapped foreigners were an American couple who
had been working with minority groups in the Philippines for 15
years and were on holiday at the resort, their group, New Tribes
Mission, said in a statement.

The military described the raiders as "terrorists" while a
police officer said they were believed to be Moro separatist Abu
Sayyaf rebels.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued a statement
condemning the raid as a "dastardly criminal act by ruthless
bandits".

Arroyo gave an assurance that the government would "do
everything within its powers" to ensure the safety of the 20
hostages. As part of this effort, she has dispatched the military
chief to supervise the operations against the kidnappers.

The government has also deployed three patrol boats, one plane
and two helicopters to assist police and soldiers in tracking
down the bandits, according to the statement from the Malacanang
presidential palace.

Arroyo had earlier taken a hard line stance against the Abu
Sayyaf after they threatened to behead an American hostage
abducted last year and who was rescued by the military in April.

Military officers at first said two of the kidnapped tourists
were American and the third was from Spain but police and
presidential spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao later said all three were
American.

Thirteen domestic tourists, including an eight-year-old boy,
and four resort guards and staff were also abducted.

Abu Sayyaf rebels sparked worldwide outrage last year when
they snatched more than 40 foreigners and Filipinos from two
tourist resorts in Malaysia and from Jolo island in the southern
Philippines.

Many of those victims were released after big ransoms were
paid. Some were rescued by soldiers and others escaped. One
Filipino resort worker kidnapped is still held.

The masked gunmen, armed with a machinegun and assault rifles,
raided the resort on Arrecifi island, near the Palawan provincial
capital Puerto Princesa, at about 5 a.m. police said.