THE body of an elderly German hostage who was beheaded by Abu Sayyaf bandits has been found, the government said on Sunday.
The Abu Sayyaf, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, murdered Jurgen Kantner, 70, last week after its demand for P30 million was not met.
Military officials said Marines found Kantner’s body on Saturday evening in the militants’ remote stronghold of Sulu.
Capt. Jo-Ann Petinglay, spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command, said it was 6 p.m. when the troops found the decapitated body.
Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement that the government was “deeply saddened but resolved as ever to respond to the recent discovery of the body of Mr. Jurgen Kantner.”
“President Duterte has declared time and again that terrorism is the twin scourge of narco-politics, and that this government will leave no stone unturned in squarely addressing the evils of extremism and plain banditry,” Abella said.
“We reiterate our sincere sympathies to the family of Mr. Kantner, as well as to the rest of the German people, for this modern-day cruelty. Rest assured these mindless acts will not go unpunished,” Abella also said.
Westmincom chief Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. expressed “deep regrets” to Kantner’s family for being unable to rescue him.
Troops have clashed with the Abu Sayyaf in recent days, leaving 29 soldiers injured and 14 militants dead, according to the military, which says it has been unable to recover the bodies of slain guerrillas.
“It was not easy to find it because of the fighting with the Abu Sayyaf kidnap group that resulted in the wounding of 29 of our men and in the wounding of many of the enemy,” said Col. Cirilito Sobejana, head of an anti-terror task force in the southern islands.
He said the government was arranging with the German Embassy to repatriate Kantner’s body for burial.
Kantner’s yacht, the Rockall, was found drifting on Nov. 7 off the southern Philippines with the body of his female companion, Sabine Merz, who had been shot. The Abu Sayyaf claimed the kidnapping.
Kantner’s remains are in a military hospital morgue in Sulu while officials prepare documentation for transporting the body, authorities said.
President Rodrigo Duterte has apologized for failing to save Kantner and said the military had stepped up operations against the militants.
The Abu Sayyaf, established with seed money from Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaida network, has been kidnapping foreigners and locals for decades and holding them for ransom.
The Armed Forces said Abu Sayyaf, tagged as a terrorist organization, still has 31 hostages—12 Vietnamese, seven Indonesians, six Filipinos, five Malaysians, and a Dutch national.
The group, blamed for the nation’s worst terrorist attacks, has used the support of local communities, millions of dollars in ransom and collusion with corrupt local officials to defy decades of military operations. With AFP