ZAMBOANGA, Philippines - An armed gang that seized a group of resort workers on the Malaysian section of Borneo Island are believed headed for the southern Philippines, the Filipino armed forces said today.

Security forces on Mindanao island have been placed on high alert and were working closely with Malaysian authorities to intercept the group and their hostages, military vice chief of staff Lieutenant General Rodolfo Garcia told reporters.

Malaysian police reported that the armed gang seized three Filipinos and three Indonesians Sunday from the resort.

But Garcia said his information was that there were no Filipinos among the hostages and that the hostages were Indonesians and Malaysians.

"They were heading towards (the main southern Philippine island of) Mindanao," Garcia said.

The suspects

Military southern command chief Roy Kyamko "is working on this information and taking all necessary actions to interdict and to be able to intercept this group of abductors including those they have abducted from Malaysia," Garcia said.

He said he was not ruling out the possibility that the kidnappers could be members of the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim guerrilla group based in the southern Philippines.

The Abu Sayyaf, a small group of Islamic militants, have in the past seized hostages in cross-border raids into Malaysian resorts.

It is believed that the capability of the Abu Sayyaf has been downgraded amid relentless military operations in their strongholds. The US armed forces is training Filipino troops hunting down the Abu Sayyaf.

"However, we do not completely rule out the involvement of the Abu Sayyaf in this particular incident," Garcia said.

Ransom

Malaysian police chief Norian Mai earlier said the Abu Sayyaf had been ruled out because of the choice of target - workers rather than foreign tourists. Locals seeking ransom were the main suspects, he said.

Indonesian armed forces are also cooperating in the hunt for the kidnappers, Malaysian authorities said.

Abu Sayyaf gunmen kidnapped 21 people from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan in April 2000 and ransomed them off for millions of dollars after holding them for more than a year on the southern Philippine island of Jolo. - AFP