Group says kidnaps American in West Bank

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 11 (Reuters) Palestinian security officials today said they were investigating reports that a previously unknown militant group in the occupied West Bank had kidnapped a U.S.

student.

The group, calling itself Ansar Assuna, said Michael Phillips, 24, had been seized in the West Bank city of Nablus. The group faxed to Reuters a copy of Phillips's passport, Israeli entry visa and student identification card.

Nablus Governor Kamal Sheikh said Phillips was working as an English teacher with Project Hope, a local charity catering to underprivileged Palestinian children. Sheikh quoted a member of the charity as saying Phillips went missing at 1700 hrs.

''We are taking this issue seriously,'' Sheikh told Reuters.

Ansar Assuna did not issue any ransom demands, but said it would later.

Palestinian security officials and the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem said they were checking into the situation.

The reported kidnapping follows the abduction of two journalists working for the American Fox New Channel in the Gaza Strip in August. They were held by militants for two weeks before being freed.

Reuters SHB DB2354