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1st LD Writethru: Philippine military verifying reports that Islamic militants killed German hostage

Xinhua, February 27, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Philippine military is verifying reports that Islamic militants have killed a German hostage after authorities failed to pay ransom, a military spokesman said Sunday.

Col. Edgard Arevalo said that an informant has told the military that Juergen Kantner was beheaded somewhere in Indanan town in the southern province of Sulu.

"There was an unconfirmed report that (Kantner) was beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf (bandits). But we are still validating this report," Arevalo said.

A team has been sent to Indanan to verify the unconfirmed report that Kantner was killed around 3:30 p.m., he said.

"Our operating units on the ground are still on the search and rescue mode. Pending confirmation, we defer from making any further comments," Arevalo said.

The Abu Sayyaf group abducted Kantner, 70, in November last year when he was sailing with his wife Sabine Merz on a yacht on Malaysian waters.

Merz was shot dead by the abductors, according to the military.

The Abu Sayyaf group has demanded a 30-million-pesos (600,000-U.S.-dollar) ransom for Kantner's release.

The kidnappers set 3 p.m. Sunday as the deadline for the payment of the ransom.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza said in a statement on Sunday that he received a telephone call from Col. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Joint Sulu Task Force, that Kantner was beheaded around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.

He said that Sobejana has also informed him that validation efforts of the report was still ongoing.

Government authorities want to see the victim's body before confirming the report that the captive has been beheaded.

Like the IS terrorists, the Abu Sayyaf group also uses beheading while killing their captives.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said that the Philippine-based Abu Sayyaf group has links with the IS militants in the Middle East.

Duterte has ordered the military to go on fresh offensive against the estimated 400 Abu Sayyaf bandits operating mostly in the hinterlands of southern Philippine provinces of Sulu and Basilan.

The military said that the group is holding 27 foreign and Filipino kidnapped victims. (1 Philippine peso = 0.02 U.S. dollar) Endit