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Philippine militants, Abu Sayyaf, release video of their beheading German hostage Jurgen Kantner, after failure to meet their ransom demands

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Image released by SITE Intel Group on Feb. 24, 2017, shows  Jurgen  Kantner held hostage by the militants at an undisclosed location.

Philippine authorities allegedly,  received reports the terrorists executed Jurgen Gustav Kantner around 3.30pm local time on Sunday afternoon

Jurgen Kantner, was abducted last November by Isis-linked  the Abu Sayyaf Philippine militant group

Kantner’s wife, Sabine Merz, was killed during the kidnapping

Abu Sayyaf circulated a video early Feb demanding ransom be paid by 3 p.m. Sunday else thy would kill the hostage

The militants were seeking a ransom of 30 million pesos [$605,000]

Abu Sayyaf  pledged allegiance to Isis in 2014

Kantner’s wife, Sabine Merz, was killed during the kidnapping

Jurgen Gustav Kantner3.jpgThe German sailor Jurgen Kantner, was snatched from his yacht in November was executed Sunday by his captors

Philippines extremist Muslim militants, Abu Sayyaf, Sunday released a video showing the beheading of a German hostage, Jurgen Gustav Kantner,  in the first sign the Filipino militants carried out a threat to kill him after their weekend ransom deadline lapsed.
The brief video circulated Monday by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi websites, shows Kantner sitting in a grassy clearing and saying “Now he kill me” shortly before a masked militant beheads him with a curved knife.
A few gunmen mutter “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is great,” in the video that lasts a minute and 43 seconds.
The Philippine military said it would not confirm Kantner’s death unless it sees the captive’s remains or other compelling evidence. Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said he “will not dignify that video by watching it.”
“They can shout and claim whatever they want but we will not rely on this,” Padilla said, adding an ongoing offensive against the Abu Sayyaf and attempts to rescue foreign and local hostages held by the militants would continue.
An intelligence report seen by The Associated Press said an Abu Sayyaf militant, Moammar Askali, had wanted Kantner to be killed as announced but others wanted to wait out for a ransom payment. The militants circulated a video earlier this month where Kantner said he would be killed if ransom was not paid by 3 p.m. Sunday.
Philippine officials have said the militants were seeking a ransom of 30 million pesos ($605,000).

Jurgen Gustav Kantner 2.jpg
Jurgen Kantner, with his wife, Sabine Merz, who herself was killed during the kidnapping

Jesus Dureza, the adviser dealing with Muslim rebel groups, on behalf of Philippines president, Rodrigo Duterte, condemned the killing of Kantner as barbaric, saying the Philippine military and other groups “exhausted all efforts to save his life” up to the final moment.
“We grieve as we strongly condemn the barbaric beheading of yet another kidnap victim,” Dureza said in a statement. “We all tried our best. But to no avail.”
In Germany, Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said German experts were evaluating the video to determine whether it was authentic, but that if it was, it’s “deeply shocking.”
“It makes you question what can lead people to commit such a barbaric crime, but, at the moment, I’m not in a position to say whether the video’s authentic,” he said.
He would not give any details on possible negotiations with the kidnappers, including whether there was a ransom demand, citing government policy and saying that “public comment never helps in finding a solution” in such cases.
However, local media reports said talks had been conducted with the militants over Mr Kantner’s release in exchange for 30m peso (£500,000), but that they later broke down.
Kantner was abducted in November 2016 after he  and his wife Sabine Merz, were attacked by the militants while cruising Philippine waters in their 53-foot yacht. Merz was killed during the kidnapping, reportedly after trying to fight back against the militants with a shotgun.
Abu Sayyaf announced themselves in November, that its gunmen had kidnapped Kantner and killed a woman sailing with him off the coasts of Sabah state in neighboring Malaysia. Villagers later found a dead woman on a yacht with the German flag off Laparan Island in Sulu province in the southern Philippines. Coincidentally, the same couple were abducted by Somali pirates and held hostage for 58 days off the Gulf of Aden in 2008, and later freed, officials said.
Abu Sayyaf has been active largely through maritime piracy for over three decades, and was responsible for the Philippines’ worst terror attack, the Superferry bombing in 2004, which killed around 100 people. In 2014, after pledging allegiance to ISIS, they escalated to regularly kidnapping and beheading sailors as a means of supporting the Middle East-based group.
The Philippine militants which has been Blacklisted by the U.S. and the Philippines, as a terrorist organization, is holding more than 20 foreign and local hostages in jungle encampments in the country’s south.Abu Sayyaf beheaded two Canadian men in 2016 after separate ransom deadlines lapsed.
Philippine Duterte has ordered the country’s troops to destroy the Abu Sayyaf extremists, saying their ransom kidnappings were embarrassing and were creating a security alarm in the waters bordering the south, Malaysia and Indonesia.
However the kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf and allied gunmen of passing crews have persisted despite the joint efforts by the three countries to shore up security along their territorial waters

1 Comment on Philippine militants, Abu Sayyaf, release video of their beheading German hostage Jurgen Kantner, after failure to meet their ransom demands

  1. Lazaro Marino // February 28, 2017 at 10:05 pm // Reply

    They were kidnapped before and luckily we’re released. This time they were not as lucky, why was no real attempt made to rescue him!

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