Gunmen kidnap Filipino businessman, school officer

Suspected Muslim militants separately abducted a businessman and a school official on southern Jolo island despite a government crackdown intended to curb a rash of kidnappings in the region, officials said Sunday.

Peter Go was taken at gunpoint by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants late Saturday from his electronics store near Jolo’s pier then taken away aboard a van, Sulu provincial police chief Julasirim Kasim said.

He has lived on predominantly Muslim Jolo, about 590 miles (950 kilometers) south of Manila, for less than a year, police said.

Abu Sayyaf militants led by commander Gafur Jumdail also seized Pakkam Hashim, a school principal, in Jolo’s Parang township Friday, regional Army spokeswoman Steffani Cacho told reporters.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abductions and a military and police search was under way.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has expressed anger over a rise in kidnappings by Muslim militants on Jolo and nearby islands and ordered troops and police to step up a monthlong crackdown.

There have been concerns that the kidnappings would scare away investors and tourists while helping to resuscitate the Abu Sayyaf, which Arroyo’s administration has dismissed as a spent force after US-backed military offensives killed its elusive chieftain, Khadaffy Janjalani, and other top commanders.

Also Saturday, Muslim militants stormed a house on nearby Basilan island, killing two members of a pro-government militia and a woman then kidnapping three civilians to cover their escape.

The military said it suspected the kidnappers were members of the Abu Sayyaf or the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a large Muslim rebel group, which had been negotiating with the government for self-rule in the south. The talks collapsed after major fighting erupted in August.

The Abu Sayyaf, which the military says has more than 300 gunmen, has been blamed for a string of high-profile kidnappings for ransom, including of Americans and Europeans. It’s on a US list of terrorist organizations with links to al-Qaida. – AP