 Suspected members of the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group snatched a group of local traders in the southern Philippines at the weekend and killed three of them, police said Monday. The gunmen seized the four traders Saturday near the coastal town of Pandami on Jolo Island, a rebel hotbed in the southern tip of the archipelago. The rebels had introduced themselves as Abu Sayyaf militants and accused the victims of being government spies. Three of the victims were later killed by firing squad, but the fourth managed to escape and is now under protective custody, police said. "We are still investigating. The gunmen told them they were kidnapped because they were military spies," said the police officer leading the investigation, who did not want to be named. A manhunt has been launched for the attackers, he said. |