Europeans kidnapped in Philippines

Two European birdwatchers and their Filipino guide were abducted yesterday on a remote southern Philippine island where Islamic militants are known to operate, authorities said.
Gunmen seized the men, including a Dutch and a Swiss, on a tiny island in the Tawi-Tawi archipelago and forced them onto a speedboat, regional military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Randolph Cabangbang told AFP.
One of two Filipino guides accompanying them was also abducted while the second escaped and reported the crime to authorities, he added.
Cabangbang said the military had no definite suspect yet and that he did not know what the group was doing there, but police sources in the area said the three were birdwatchers.
An official with the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines also told AFP the abducted Filipino was one of its members.
Islamic militants are known to operate in Tawi Tawi and other parts of the remote southern Philippines, and frequently kidnap foreigners as well as locals in efforts to extort ransoms.