A 53-year-old Australian married to a Filipino was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga Sibugay on Monday evening.

Military and police forces have launched a search and rescue operation for Warren Rodwil, who was forcibly taken by six men from his home in Greenmeadow subdivision in Lower Pangi village, Ipil town at 6:15 p.m., military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang said, according to SunStar Zamboanga.

The kidnappers tied his hands before fleeing to the forest.

Rodwil, who is married to a 27-year-old Filipina, has been living in Ipil town, the capital of Zamboanga Sibugay, for almost a year now. He was not the first person to be kidnapped in the province.

On Sept. 4. Luisa Galvez-Morrison, a Filipina married to a Scottish national, was also abducted by unidentified gunmen in Ipil. She was rescued on Sept. 19 in Sitio Bohe Peyat, Baiwas village, Sumisip, Basilan province.

Authorities don't know which group took the Australian.

Kidnap for ransom gangs and the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf have targeted foreigners in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao in the past. The Abu Sayyaf was responsible for the abduction of Galvez-Morrison.

Muslim insurgents have also figured in kidnappings of foreigners and locals. Two Americans, a Malaysian, an Indian and three South Koreans were among the latest victims. Some of them were released while others remain in captivity, including an American teenager.

Zamboanga Sibugay province in Mindanao, Philippines.