Gunmen kidnap Italian restaurant owner in southern Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine police say gunmen have abducted an Italian restaurant owner and former Roman Catholic missionary in the country's south, a few weeks after the kidnapping of three foreigners and a Filipino woman in the restive region.

Police say six men dragged Rolando del Torchio at gunpoint into a van late Wednesday and then later transferred to motor boats and fled under cover of darkness from Dipolog City in Zamboanga del Norte province.

Provincial safety officer Mary Anne Sabanal said del Torchio was eating in his restaurant when the gunmen barged in and took him away.

Last month, gunmen kidnapped two Canadian tourists, a Norwegian and a Filipino woman from an upscale marina on Samal Island in Davao del Norte province, also in the south.