Police say suspected Abu Sayyaf extremists have kidnapped an Indian citizen in the southern Philippine province of Sulu.
Regional police official Felicisimo Khu says Abu Sayyaf militants took Biju Kolara Veettil at gunpoint late Wednesday from the house of his Filipino wife’s relatives, whom the couple was visiting in the coastal town of Patikul in the predominantly Muslim province.
Mr. Khu said on Thursday that 36—year—old Veettil was snatched by an Abu Sayyaf faction implicated in past kidnappings for ransom.
The Abu Sayyaf, an armed group of about 400 fighters, has been blamed for numerous kidnappings, beheadings and bombings. Washington has blacklisted it as a terrorist organization.
