Just to move this question from the [*Unanswered*](http://gis.stackexchange.com/unanswered) section - the *Sextante plugin* has been renamed to the **Processing plugin**.

And as of version 2.9.0, you can use the **Select by expression** tool (separately or within the graphic modeler) which allows you to select features based on the expression provided. 

[![Select by expression][1]][1]


This can include multiple attribute values, for example:

    "column_A" = 'X' OR "column_B" = 'Y'


  [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/Fm2GA.png