MANILA, Philippines (AP) Abu Sayyaf militants barged into a government compound in the southern Philippines and abducted the provincial treasurer in a daring attack, a military official said Tuesday.
Two police bodyguards opened fire but failed to stop the abduction after they were overwhelmed by up to 10 Abu Sayyaf militants, who snatched Jesus Cabilin late Monday in his quarters in the provincial capital compound in Sulu province, military commander Marine Col. Jose Cenabre said.
The militants, who were armed with assault rifles and pistols, fled in a van with Cabilin.
The brief exchange of fire between the militants and Cabilin's police guards alarmed Cenabre and other officers, who were at the provincial military headquarters about 1 kilometer (less than a mile) away.
"I deployed a tank," Cenabre said. "I thought the provincial capital was under attack."