A Sri Lankan peace advocate was kidnapped Friday in a southern Philippine island, a police report said.
The report said Jaalil Umar, 36, was seized by unidentified gunmen inside his rented house in Lamitan town in Basilan province, 900 kilometres south of Manila.
The gunmen barged into the house of the victim and forcibly took him, dpa reported.
Government security forces have launched operations to rescue the Sri Lankan, who, according to initial reports, works with a non-governmental organization promoting peace in strife-torn Basilan, a haven of Abu Sayyaf rebels, a Muslim militant group believed to be linked to the al-Quaeda terror network.