(UPDATE) Businesswoman abducted by gunmen in Tawi-Tawi

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Xinhua) - A group of gunmen suspected to have link with the terrorist group of Abu Sayyaf have abducted a trader in an island town in Tawi-Tawi, police said Saturday.

According to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police regional office, reports received form Tawi-Tawi police identified the abductee as Sugar Diane Buenviaje, 33, a shopkeeper in Mapun.

Police reported that 3 gunmen barged into the shop of the victim on Friday afternoon and took her at gunpoint before herding her towards the getaway speedboat in the nearby shorelines of Lyubud village and sped off towards unknown direction.

Police in Tawi-Tawi province immediately alerted the neighboring provinces of Sulu and Basilan and even Palawan, which are all possible areas where the suspects escaped with their captive businesswoman.

The family of the victim has not received any contact from the kidnappers, according to the ARMM police headquarters.