Group takes four people from resort

A group of 11 men posing as tourists kidnapped four people from a Philippines island resort, a military spokesman said yesterday.

Three of the victims were identified as Robert Hall and John Ridsdel, both of Canada, and Kjartan Sekkingstad, of Norway, said the spokesman, Captain Alberto Caber.

The identity of the fourth victim, a woman from the Philippines, has not yet been confirmed.

The four were taken from the Holiday Oceanview Samal resort on Samal Island, off the southern coast of Mindanao, about 11.30pm on Monday, Caber said.

Some of the kidnappers were armed with pistols.

Closed-circuit camera footage shows the men casually speaking in English to the victims before the abduction.

Two Japanese guests at the resort tried unsuccessfully to intervene, but they were not harmed or abducted, Caber said.

Though many parts of the southern Philippines have high levels of violence and lawlessness, the location of the resort, near the city of Davao, was considered relatively safe, Caber said.

Officials did not release background information on the victims, but photographs released by the military indicate that Ridsdel is a mining executive based in the Philippines since at least August 2008.

Sekkingstad is the manager of the resort.

Mindanao has been a frequent site of kidnappings and violence between government troops and several rebel groups, including Muslim extremists who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.