Alleged leftist rebels kidnap 6 contractors in ComVal

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Xinhua) - Suspected leftist rebels abducted six civilians in southern Philippines yesterday, the military today said.

The latest kidnapping allegedly perpetrated by New People's Army guerrillas happened in Maco town, in Mindanao's Compostela Valley province around 2:30 p.m. local time, according to Ernest Carolina, a local army spokesperson.

Carolina told Xinhua the victims who are sub-contractors of the government's Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) were conducting validation inspection of the town's compliance to the national reforestation program when forcibly seized by armed men in the hinterland village of New Leyte.

"The armed men brought the victims to an unknown direction. We' re now conducting follow-up operations to locate and rescue them," the military official said.

This was the second time in just two months leftist rebels carried out mass abduction of civilians in the resources-rich but insurgency-plagued Southern Mindanao region.

Last April, rebels also kidnapped close to 40 people, mostly gold miners in neighboring Maragusan town. The victims were subsequently released within days.