Military deployed to counter kidnappings

MANILA, Philippines, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The Philippines armed forces Wednesday were deployed to the southern Mindanao region to counter increased kidnappings for ransom by rebel groups.

A recent increase in the number of kidnappings by the rebel Abu Sayyaf group and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front prompted Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to call for immediate countermeasures from the Philippines Armed Forces and the National Police, the Philippine government reported.

Philippine police reports show as many as 56 people have been kidnapped and held for ransom since January, with nine having been killed. Arroyo ordered local government units in the southern Mindanao region to coordinate with the increased security effort.

"(The president has) ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police to launch more vigorous and broader pursuit operations against kidnappers in the area," Arroyo spokesman Eduardo Ermita said in a statement.

"The president is determined to put a stop to these incidents and contain and neutralize the perpetrators at all costs, all of whom have been identified as either members of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group or rogue elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front."