JOLO, Philippines — Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen abducted four workers in a school in Sulu where President Rodrigo Duterte visited troops waging an offensive against the militants, officials said Sunday. About 20 militants barged into a grade school compound in Sulu province's Patikul town shortly after midnight Saturday and seized six painters and carpenters, one of whom managed to escape and alerted the police. Duterte pinned medals on wounded troops during brief visit Saturday to Sulu, a predominantly Muslim province about 590 miles (950 kilometers) south of Manila. The tough-talking president has ordered government forces to destroy the ransom-seeking militants who still hold several foreign and Filipino hostages in Sulu's jungles. Army troops were helping police track down the rest with the use of military drones and sniffer dogs, a police statement said.

Source: Philippine Star July 16, 2017 07:18 UTC