Gunmen abduct 75, mostly kids

Dec 10, 2009 MANILA - ARMED mountain tribesmen abducted about 75 people, most of them schoolchildren, after a raid on a remote elementary school in the southern Philippines on Thursday, a senior army general said. Police later said 18 were freed, including 17 children. Last month, 57 people, including 30 journalists, were killed after they were stopped at a checkpoint in Maguindanao province, also in the southern Philippines. The mass killings has led to a crackdown on warlords in the south and the imposition of martial law in Maguindanao last week. On Thursday, a group of teachers and students was preparing for the start of their classes in Prosperidad town when armed Manobo tribesmen took them away to a forested area in Agusan del Sur province, Lieutenant-General Raymundo Ferrer said. 'We've sent troops to help rescue the hostages,' Lieutenant Ferrer told Reuters, describing the armed men as a group of 'bandits' blamed for several robberies and killings in the area. 'We are not aware of any political demands but negotiations are now ongoing to free the hostages that include two forest rangers and some of the parents who were in the school at that time. We're only playing a support role there.' -- REUTERS