ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Gunmen believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf abducted before dawn on Wednesday the daughter of a former town mayor and his ex-wife in a village of Patikul town, Sulu.
Lt. Col. Gerry Besana, spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command, said reports from the military's Joint Task Force Sulu identified the victims as Edelyn Tulawie, 27, and her mother Addang Tulawie, 67, both of Talipao town.
Edelyn and Addang are the daughter and ex-wife of former Talipao town mayor Tambrin Tulawie. Tulawie's son, Nebukadnezzar, is the current mayor.
Besana said the victims were reportedly asleep gunmen barged into their house, which is along the boundary of barangays Kandaga and Kuhaw.
The victims were taken away at gunpoint and were last seen going in the direction of Lower Kamuntayan.
Besana said the members of the Barangay Peace Action Teams from Talipao and troops from the 501st Infantry Brigade conducted pursuit operations to recover the hostages.
He said military intelligence is also monitoring the area for leads on where the woman may have been taken. Troops have also been deployed to find out what group is resonsible for the abduction.
The Tulawie family has yet to issue a statement on the abduction.
Talipao is known to have a strong Abu Sayyaf presence. The group holds at least nine others captive.