Muslim Imam Killed During Failed Kidnapping Attempt By Radical Christians

Ah, silly me. I had that backwards!

Zamboanga City, Philippines - A Roman Catholic priest was killed in a botched kidnapping by suspected al-Qaeda-linked Muslim militants in the southern Philippines, the military said Wednesday. Father Rey Roda, director of a Catholic school in Tabawan town in Tawi-Tawi province, 1,100 kilometres south of Manila, was praying inside a chapel when 10 gunmen barged in and grabbed him.

Major Eugene Batara, a regional military spokesman, said the kidnappers, suspected to be Abu Sayyaf rebels, dragged Roda out of the chapel but the priest resisted.

"The priest was killed on the spot," he said.

Batara said the kidnappers fled with one hostage, a teacher at the Notre Dame High School.

A military report said the gunmen were believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf group, which has been plotting to kidnap Roda, other priests and teachers at Notre Dame.

"Earlier information prior to the incident showed that this kidnapping would be undertaken by the Abu Sayyaf," the report said.

The Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for some of the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines, including high-profile kidnap-for-ransom incidents involving foreign hostages.