Philippine troops launched Tuesday an operation against suspected members of the Al Qaida-linked militant group Abu Sayyaf holding a local elementary school principal in a small town in southern Philippines.

Gabriel Canizares, 36, was snatched by 12 fully armed militants at around 4:20 p.m. on Monday from a public transport vehicle leaving the Kanague Elementary School of Patikul town in Sulu province.

Canizares was with his colleagues when the militants showed up but he was the only one being kidnapped. A hunt for the kidnappers is underway.

Maj. Ramon David Hontiveros, regional military spokesman, said troops were mobilized and intelligence efforts were heightened to locate the whereabouts of the abducted state school head.

The latest kidnapping happened while Philippine troops were busy in the search and rescue operation for 79-year-old ailing Irish Priest Michael Sinnot seized on October 11 in the southern city of Pagadian. Michael Sinnott was the second Western missionary being kidnapped in southern Philippines in two years.

Sulu is a known bailiwick of Abu Sayyaf blamed also responsible for the abduction of three international Red Cross officials.

The group, blacklisted by Washington as a foreign terrorist organization, is considered a major security threat to the Philippines and the region engaged in kidnappings, bombings and even beheadings in the South over the past decade.

Source: Xinhua