Couple kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf Group in Jolo

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Armed gunmen kidnapped a couple in Jolo island in southern Philippines early this morning, the military said.

The couple, both employees of a local water district, were kidnapped by six suspected terrorists of Abu Sayyaf Group in front of their house in San Raymundo village in Jolo at around 5:30 a.m., said Ryan Laquesta, an officer of the 2nd Marine Brigade based in Jolo.

The couple just arrived from Zamboanga City when they were forced to board a jeepney by the suspects and fled toward Anuling village in Patikul town.

Authorities are now conducting pursuit operation to locate and rescue the victims, Laquesta added.

The 380-strong Abu Sayyaf group, founded in the early 1990s by Islamic extremists, is notorious for kidnappings, bombings and even beheadings in southern Philippines over the past decade.