DAR AL HARB - PHILLIPINES: ITALIAN PRIEST ABDUCTED IN THE PHILLIPINES, MOSLEMS SUSPECTED

Italian priest abducted in southern Philippines, authorities suspect Islamic rebels
By TERESA CEROJANO
Associated Press Writer

MANILA, Philippines (AP) Gunmen abducted an Italian Roman Catholic priest who was on his way to a remote village to celebrate Sunday Mass in the southern Philippines, police said.

Giancarlo Bossi, 57, was riding his motorcycle in Zamboanga Sibugay province's Payao township, about 500 miles south of Manila, when about 10 armed men blocked his path then seized him, said Senior Superintendent Francisco Cristobal, the provincial police chief.

Cristobal said he suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels who operate in Zamboanga Sibugay, despite a cease-fire agreement with the government. He did not elaborate, but said that al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, notorious for ransom kidnappings, are not known to be active in the area.

Cristobal said police received reports that the group boarded two boats, possibly to flee to nearby islands.

Police and the military was conducting a joint search for the priest with land and coastal patrols, he added.

Bossi was assigned as parish priest of Payao in April and is a member of the Pontificio Instituto Missioni Estere, Cristobal said. Sundalo Jianni, an official from the mission, appealed to Bossi's abductors to free him.

``Father Bossi is a good man and there is no reason to hold him against his will,'' he told the local Mindanao Examiner newspaper.

Col. Godofredo Paderanga of the local army division said ``lawless elements'' were responsible. He did not provide details, but in the past, authorities have blamed rogue members of the MILF, the largest Muslim separatist group in the predominantly Catholic Philippines, for kidnappings and extortion demands.

...


Pertinent Links:

1) Italian priest abducted in southern Philippines, authorities suspect Islamic rebels