ZAMBOANGA CITY – Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants seized the seven-year old daughter of a Muslim merchant and shot his wife in the remote southern Filipino province of Tawi-Tawi before escaping out to the open sea, police and military said Thursday.
Authorities said the militants arrived on a motorboat in the village of Himba in Tandubas Island on Monday and seized the girl from the merchant’s store.
The victim’s father took his gun, opened fire on militants and sparking a firefight that left his wife wounded after being shot by one of the abductors.
The gunmen escaped along with the girl, whose surname is Astah. Tawi-Tawi, which is near the Malaysian state of Sabah, is one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
Security forces launched an operation to track down the gunmen and rescue the victim. (Mindanao Examiner)
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