Filipino gunmen take dozens hostage

MANILA, Philippines, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Gunmen in the troubled southern Philippines Thursday kidnapped dozens of people, including children, before releasing them, authorities said.

CNN reported 75 people were kidnapped in Prosperidad, capital of Agusan del Sur province on southern Mindanao Island, where at a different location 57 people were killed in election-related violence last month.

Army Capt. Enrico Ileto told the U.S. broadcaster 17 children and an adult were later freed.

The BBC reported about 15 gunmen, described by authorities as members of a criminal gang, abducted about 65 people, including students and teachers.

The report quoted military spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner as saying all the hostages were released hours later following a stand-off.

"Initially, they released a first group of about 18-17 children and one adult -- and just recently they have released every hostage already," Brawner told the BBC. It was not clear what the gunmen had demanded.

The BBC also said there were no indications the kidnappings were linked to the Nov. 23 killings of 57 people in Maguindanao province, located on the other side of Mindanao.

There also appeared to be no connection between the kidnappings and the island's Muslim separatist insurgency, whose members are in peace talks with the government.