Malaysian police and military forces are hunting down a group of armed men that raided a police outpost on a popular diving resort in Mabul Island off Borneo later Saturday, killing one policemen and taking another hostage.

Police would not say what group could be responsible, but a senior security official said the gunmen could most likely have come from the Philippines.

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Abdul Rashid Harun, head of Sabah state eastern security zone, said the masked gunmen, numbering about six to eight, wore black T-shirts and camouflaged military trousers.

The Malaysian government established a security zone in the area last year after a large group identifying themselves as Islamic guerrillas staged a bloody assault into Sabah, purportedly to stake a historical claim to the island. It took a few weeks - and dozens dead including Malaysian security personnel - before the gunmen were neutralized.

In the year 2000, 21 people were abducted from another diving resort on Sipadan Island, near Mabul. The Abu Sayyaf, base in the Philippines and affiliated with al-Qaeda, was blamed for the incident.

The latest incident on Saturday night follows three similar raids and abductions that have occurred in the area since April.

Travel agencies and resort owners are now calling on the Malaysian government to act decisively on the recurring security problem that has affected tourism in the eastern Malaysian state.

Tan Kok Liang, vice president of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, said the incident becomes a blatant challenge to Malaysian security officials.

Tan said there had already been a 10 per cent drop in tourist arrivals in the second quarter compared with the first three months of  2014.

Sabah state is a favorite destination for tourists from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, the US, United Kingdom and other European countries.

Average annual tourist arrivals in the area come up to 3.5 million.

TagsSabah, Malaysia, Mabul Island, Abu Sayyaf, Al-qaeda