Al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants have abducted two contractors for a telecommunications company in the southern Philippines, the latest captives by a ransom-seeking group that still holds two European tourists and other hostages, officials said Wednesday. Nasri Abubakar and Dennis Aluba were traveling with a guide on motorcycles after inspecting a cellphone transmission facility when they were stopped by about 10 Abu Sayyaf gunmen on Tuesday in mountainous Patikul town in Sulu Province, marine Col. Jose Cenabre said. The guide managed to escape while the gunmen led the victims to a jungle. Their employer, the country’s leading telecommunications company Globe Telecom, expressed hopes that the victims would be safely freed.—AP