Militants in the southern Philippines have beheaded a German
man after a deadline to pay his ransom passed, the Philippine government has
said.
A brief video circulated on Monday by the SITE Intelligence
Group, which monitors jihadi websites, appears to show Jurgen Kantner being
killed.
Shortly after the video appeared, the Philippine government
envoy Jesus Dureza confirmed the German’s death.
“We grieve as we strongly condemn the barbaric beheading of
yet another kidnap victim,” Dureza said in a statement. “Up to the last moment,
many sectors including the armed forces of the Philippines exhausted all
efforts to save his life. We all tried our best. But to no avail.”
Military officials in the south said they had not yet found
Kantner’s body.
Militant group Abu Sayyaf had demanded a ransom of 30m pesos
(£480,000) be paid by Sunday to spare the 70-year-old.
The group had previously released videos that showed a
haggard Kantner appealing for payment of the ransom.
Kantner was abducted from his yacht, the Rockall, off the
southern Philippines last year.
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