Abu Sayyaf rebels have threatened to execute four of their hostages – two Canadians, a Norwegian and a Filipino woman – if their $100-million ransom is not paid. The militant said the captives would be killed if the ransoms are not paid but did not give any deadline.
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Army Brig. Gen. Alan Arrojado said Wednesday the Philippine government maintains a no-ransom policy, and there would be no letup in efforts by his troops to secure the hostages’ freedom in the safest way possible. Abu Sayyaf has been blacklisted by the United States and the Philippines as a terrorist organisation.
“We’re being ransomed for each for P1 billion”, he said as one of the men held a machete above his neck.
“We do not negotiate in instances like this”, she said, adding, “the tracking, the search and rescue operations are still ongoing as we speak”.
The one-minute, 27-second video was also obtained and posted on the Internet by the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks terrorist activities worldwide.
Abu Sayyaf – founded in the early 1990s with donations from former al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden – reportedly kidnapped the hostages from Samal Island, a well-known tourist destination.
PNP spokesman Chief Supt. The militants in the video stand in front of what appears to be a large ISIS flag, as they force their captives to deliver their demands. But while the video had the look of one by ISIL, the demands were tellingly focused exclusively on money rather than Western foreign policy or military deployments.
The hostages are believed to be held on Jolo Island, about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) south of the Philippine capital Manila.
A militant, who did not wear a mask, pointed a knife at him and the two other captives as each of them spoke.
When asked about the authenticity of the first video, which surfaced online last October, of the alleged Samal kidnap victims, Mayor said they got a few information from it. But he did not elaborate on the details of the information as lives are at stake.
Guerrero said the military was working with other government agencies in analyzing the latest video and trying to establish where and when it was taken.
The Inquirer was awaiting reactions from Philippine authorities.
He believes Abu Sayyaf has been watching ISIL videos in order to mimic them.
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Last week, a 73-year-old South Korean man, Hong Nwi-seong, died in captivity and his body was placed in a sack and abandoned near a school in Jolo. Philippine and German authorities denied this.
