ZAMBOANGA, Philippines - The Philippines military said on Thursday it believed a militant Islamic group with links to Al Qaeda was behind the kidnapping of a nine-year-old girl in the southern island of Basilan. Gunmen believed to be Abu Sayyaf rebels abducted Donna May Ramos, the daughter of a village official, along with a friend while they were playing Wednesday, it said. The other girl managed to escape. The girlÂ’s father is a town councilor in Basilan, a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf and other armed Muslim groups.
Provincial police chief Superintendent Clifford Gairanud said there were no immediate demands for ransom and the motive for the abduction was unknown.
Local officials have sent intermediaries to negotiate with the abductors.
The Abu Sayyaf, or Bearers of the Sword, is a small group of self-styled Islamic militants blamed for a series of high profile abductions. In 2000, the group kidnapped over a dozen European and Asian hostages and ransoming them off for millions of dollars. A year later, they kidnapped a group of tourists, along with three Americans. Two of the American hostages died -- one of them beheaded shortly after the abduction, the other during a rescue attempt a year later. The third was rescued after a year in captivity in BasilanÂ’s jungles. |