Zamboanga City, Philippines  - Three people were killed when pirates attacked a trawler in the southern Philippines, a local official said Sunday.

The pirates also took captive two crewmen from the trawler during the attack in the sea off Basilan province, 900 kilometres south of Manila, late Thursday.

Rasheed Sakkalahul, the province's deputy governor, said the pirates opened fire at the fishing boat, boarded the vessel and killed three crewmen.

"We condemn this attack and the authorities are now searching for those taken by pirates," he said. "We don't know whether the two hostages are still alive or not."

Sakkalahul said authorities recovered the trawler on Saturday, but found it emptied and stripped off of important parts.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the area is a known stronghold of al-Qaeda-linked Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels who have attacked fishermen.

The Abu Sayyaf is also blamed for some of the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines as well high-profile kidnapping-for-ransom incidents. (dpa)