An Italian priest has been kidnapped while celebrating mass in a church in the
southern Philippines.
Police said unidentified gunmen seized Father Guiseppi Piarantoni in the
coastal town of Dimataling in the province of Zamboanag del Sur and fled with
him in a motorboat.
The kidnapping comes as government troops are pursuing militants of the Muslim
Abu Sayyaf separatist group, which is holding 12 hostages, including an
American missionary couple, on the nearby island of Basilan.
Both Abu Sayaff and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are known to operate in
the province.