Philippines finds beheaded body of German hostage

Philippine troops found the body of a 70-year-old German hostage beheaded by Abu Sayyaf militants.

Abu Sayyaf rebels in the Philippines. Photo: AFP

Abu Sayyaf militants, a kidnap-for-ransom group in the southern Philippines that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS), killed 70-year-old Jurgen Kantner after failing to collect a ransom of 30 million pesos (600,000 USD), AFP reported today.

Philippine military officials said the country's navy found Kantner's body last night on the remote island of Sulu, more than 1,000 km from Manila.

"The Armed Forces of the Philippines continues to make every effort to bring the body of the hostage back to his homeland and ensure he has a proper funeral," said Edgard Arevalo, a spokesman for the Philippine military.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte apologized on February 28 for failing to save Kantner and said the military had stepped up its campaign against the rebels.

Clashes between the Philippine army and Abu Sayyaf rebels in the past few days have left 18 soldiers injured and 14 rebels dead.

Abu Sayyaf was formed with funding from the al-Qaeda terrorist network. The organization has mainly kidnapped foreigners and locals for ransom in the past few decades. Abu Sayyaf is believed to still hold at least 19 foreign hostages and 6 Filipinos.

According to VNE