Gunmen abduct priest in Philippines

Associated Press

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines — Gunmen abducted an Italian priest after an evening Mass in the southern Philippines on Wednesday, police and the military said.

The Rev. Giuseppi Piarantoni, a missionary in his mid-40s, was seized in the town of Dimataling shortly before 7 p.m., police said, without providing more details. Police said they were in pursuit of the kidnappers.

The military said eight men kidnapped the priest from a church in the small town, which is located in the province of Zamboanga del Sur about 500 miles south of Manila.

No group claimed responsibility, but police said they suspect the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf, which is thought to have links to terror suspect Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network.

On Wednesday, soldiers said they trapped an Abu Sayyaf unit holding two Americans in dense jungle and appealed to them to surrender.

Col. Francisco Gudani said his men could see the rebels, who are holding missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kan. on the southern island of Basilan. At least 11 guerrillas were killed and two soldiers were wounded in the fighting, the military said.

The Abu Sayyaf, thought to number 1,000 fighters, has kidnapped dozens of foreigners and Filipinos in recent years and raised millions of dollars in ransom. It has beheaded several hostages.

The Burnhams, along with Guillermo Sobero of Corona, Calif., and 17 Filipinos, were taken hostage at a beach resort on May 27. The skeletal remains of Sobero were found more than a week ago on Basilan.

The United States is helping the Philippines train and supply weapons to some of the more than 7,000 Filipino soldiers pursuing the Abu Sayyaf.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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