Suspected bandits holding 60 hostages in Philippines

Manila: Officials say suspected bandits abducted dozens of villagers in the southern Philippines on Thursday and are still holding about 60 of them hostage, including schoolchildren and teachers.

The gunmen, believed to be former government-armed militiamen, seized about 75 people from the remote hamlet of San Martin in Agusan del Sur province and the local village school. Fifteen students were released after negotiations with local officials.

Police are pursuing the gunmen, who appear to be using the hostages as human shields to escape after a clash with authorities in a nearby village on Wednesday, says Vice Governor Santiago Cane Jr.