2 Malaysians abducted in Borneo
MALAYSIAN police said on Monday that two men have been abducted by gunmen near a Borneo town which the United States warned last month was being targeted by criminal and terrorist groups.
Noor Rashid Ibrahim, police chief in Sabah state, said the maritime border with the Philippines, which lies to the north of Borneo, had been sealed off to prevent the gunmen from escaping.
He said that the two abducted men, Malaysians working at a seaweed farm near the fishing town of Semporna were seized in the early hours of Monday by five men armed with two rifles. ‘Based on police investigation, the group is believed to be comprised of foreigners and locals out to commit robbery,’ he told reporters.
Mr Noor Rashid declined to say which country they came from, and also sidestepped questions over whether they were from the Abu Sayyaf militant group which is active in the southern Philippines.
The US embassy in Kuala Lumpur had warned that there were indications of strikes being planned in isolated areas of eastern Sabah state, including the diving resort of Sipadan as well as the destinations of Semporna and Mabul.
Mr Noor Rashid said that the two kidnapped men were a 40-year-old manager and a 25-year-old farm supervisor. He said their abductors arrived in a narrow-hulled boat and were believed to still be in Malaysian waters. — AFP
