Huge search launched after Italian missionary abducted by gunmen in southern Philippines
Rolando del Torchio's abduction comes after two Canadian tourists, a Norwegian and a Filipino woman were kidnapped last month
Philippine forces mounted land and at sea searches on Thursday for a former Italian Catholic missionary a day after he was abducted by gunmen in the south, where he has lived for years despite a history of attacks against fellow Italian priests, officials said.
At least six men, some armed with rifles, dragged Rolando del Torchio from his pizza restaurant into a van and then to two motor boats and fled under cover of darkness on Wednesday from Dipolog city in Zamboanga del Norte province, city police chief Superintendent Ranie Hachuela said.
The abductions have been the latest reminder of the long-running security problems that have hounded the region, which has bountiful resources and promises but is hamstrung by poverty and an array of insurgents and outlaws.
Hachuela said security cameras caught images of some of the gunmen and that might help authorities identify them.