Suspected members of terrorist group Abu Sayyaf kidnapped a Chinese businesswoman and her daughter in southern Philippines on Thursday night, a police official said Friday.

Police Chief Superintendent Albert Larubis said the victims, Dina Lim Iraham, 45, and her daughter Yahong Lim Tan, 19, were snatched from their karaoke bar in Isabela City, Basilan province.

He added that the mother retained Chinese citizenship although she had been married to a Filipino national for 10 years.

Larubis said witnesses disclosed that about 10 heavily armed men wearing camouflage went inside the bar and seized the victims at gunpoint at 9:35 pm Thursday.

The suspects then dragged the victims toward the wharf where they boarded a twin-engine pump boat which sped towards Malamawi Island.

Government security forces have already launched a pursuit operation to locate the suspects and their victims.

The Chinese Consulate-General in Cebu confirmed the kidnap.

Chinese tourist Gao Huayun, 29, and a Filipina worker from a resort in Saba, Malaysia, were seized by seven fully armed men on April 2. Their whereabouts is still unknown.

Abu Sayyaf may be behind the April kidnapping, a Philippine government official said.

Xinhua - Global Times