MANILA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Gunmen believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf terrorists early on Wednesday abducted a woman and her mother while they were asleep at their home in Sulu in southern Philippines.
Lt. Col. Gerry Besana, spokesman for the military's Western Mindanao Command, said the gunmen broke into the house of the victim named Edelyn Tulawie, 27, and her mother Adding Tulawie in the village of Patikul town in Sulu around 2:20 a.m.
The victims are reportedly the daughter and ex-wife of former Patikul Mayor Tambrin Tulawie.
The Tulawies have not issued a statement regarding the kidnapping.
Besana said no group has claimed responsibility for the abduction. But the military suspects the Abu Sayyaf jihadists are behind it.
Patikul town is a known lair of the Abu Sayyaf extremists.
The abduction of the Tulawies have brought the number of Abu Sayyaf hostages to 11. Other hostages include a Dutch national, a Vietnamese, three Indonesians, and six Filipinos.
Abu Sayyaf is a small, violent, Islamist terrorist group operating in the western fringes of Mindanao and on the island provinces of Sulu and Basilan. It has a record of killings and kidnappings.
