Armed men abduct 5 fishermen in southern Philippines

At least five fishermen were abducted in southern Philippines' Sulu province on Saturday evening, according to local media reports.

The fishermen were seized by armed men at Simbahan village at 8:15 p.m. (12:15 GMT), according to a report by GMA News.

Local police said the aducted fishermen were Filipino nationals.

Sulu is one of the havens of the Abu Sayyaf group, one of the four terror groups in the Philippines that has pledged allegiance to Daesh and is notorious for repeated kidnappings in waters between Malaysia and the Philippines.

Phillippine forces continue to carry out operations in the provinces of Basilan and Sulu to locate and rescue at least 20 Indonesian, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Filipino citizens abducted by the group.