ZAMBOANGA CITY—Gunmen kidnapped a Sri Lankan Muslim working as a peace advocate in Basilan Friday, officials said.

Jalil Omar, a Muslim preacher, was seized from his boarding house in Lamitan City before dawn and taken to a nearby mountain area, said Chief Inspector Rolando Dimocrito.

Omar had been a member of the Non-Violence Peace Group, a non-government organization working for peace with Muslim rebels in the troubled island of Basilan, which has a Muslim majority but also a large Christian population.

It was not known why he was kidnapped. A few of his possessions were taken by the gunmen, police said.

Lamitan City Mayor Roderick Furigay said they had not received reports of any demands for his release.

It was unclear how long Omar had been in the country. He had chosen to remain in Basilan even after the other members of his group had left, officials said.

It was the latest abduction to rock the southern Philippines in recent months following a rash of kidnappings, including the seizure of three Red Cross workers by Muslim extremists.

Red Cross staffers Andreas Notter of Switzerland, Italian Eugenio Vagni, and Filipina Mary-Jean Lacaba were abducted on Jan. 15 and are still being held by Abu Sayyaf Muslim bandits in Jolo.

Muslim extremists and rebels have often resorted to kidnapping foreigners and Christians for ransom money, but officials were puzzled as to why they would kidnap Omar.

“We are surprised that the gunmen did not spare him for being a Muslim religious leader,” said Furigay. AFP