A Vietnamese sailor member was killed while six were abducted by unidentified armed men off the waters of Tawi-tawi on Sunday night.

Col. Edgard Arevalo, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs chief said according to the commander of the Joint Task Force Tawi-tawi a Vietnamese cargo vessel, MV Giang Hai 05 with a total of 17 crew members were attacked at the vicinity of 17 nautical miles north of Pearl Bank in Tawi-tawi around 8:25 pm.

Commander Armando Balilo, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman, said the ship was on its way to Iloilo from Indonesia.

Arevalo said the military, police and Philippine Coast Guard deployed to conduct board and search operation within the vessel after receiving reports about piracy attack.

He said government forces knew six ship crew members identified as Buy Xuan Vien, captain; Do Hu Nghia, chief mate; Bui Trung Duc, 3rd mate; Nguyin Huu Trong, 2nd engineer; Tran Viet Van sailor and Nguyen Quang Huy, oiler.

One sailor identified as Vu Duchan was killed after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds from a 5.56 mm rifle.

Arevalo said the 10 crew left in the ship were rescued by authorities.

The military and Coast Guard could not say who was behind the attack but it can be noted previous incidents by the Abu Sayyaf Group.

Arevalo said the Abu Sayyaf is holding a total of 33 kidnap victims, 26 of them are foreigners.

Balilo said the ill-fated vessel was towed by the fishing vessels organized by the Coast Guard and arrived at vicinity of the Taganak anchorage area also in Tawi-tawi around 11am Monday. Robina Asido/DMS