Philippine troops search for three kidnapped in Jolo

Manila: Philippine troops searched Jolo island on Friday to search for three members of the Red Cross abducted by gunmen, officials said.

The three include an Italian and a Swiss national. Officials suspect members of the Abu Sayyaf group as behind the kidnapping on Thursday.

Marine Lieutenant-General Nelson Allaga said, however, that no group has come forward to claim responsibility for the abduction.

Allaga also said authorities had received information that a former guard at a provincial jail on Jolo, which the Red Cross team visited earlier in the week, could have been involved.

Allaga added that the suspect was also believed to have been involved in the escape of 12 inmates from the prison on Tuesday.

Police chief Julasirim Kasim said authorities were still investigating links between the abduction and the jailbreak, in which some of the escapees had links to Abu Sayyaf.