“The government of Canada is committed to working with the government of the Philippines and global partners to pursue those responsible for this heinous act”.
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The Abu Sayyaf’s leaders have recently declared allegiance to the Islamic State jihadists who are causing carnage in the Middle East and have carried out deadly attacks in Europe.
The kidnappers reportedly took Ridsdel last September from a marina on southern Samal Island.
The Abu Sayyaf began a series of large-scale abductions after it emerged in the early 1990s as an offshoot of a separatist rebellion by minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation’s south. The Philippine government has denounced the Abu Sayyaf group as a terrorist organization that also operates more like a criminal gang, engaging in kidnapping for ransom, extortion and drug trafficking, among other crimes.
Dick Gordon, chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, said: “We have received information that a headless body was found at 8.30 p.m. of a Caucasian man in Jolo City, Jolo Island”, reported the Associated Press.
Officials in Philippines did not immediately identify the remains.
Ridsdel was the the former chief operating officer of mining company TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc., a subsidiary of Canada’s TVI Pacific, where he was a consultant, a company officer said.
“Maximum efforts are being exerted … to effect the rescue”, the military and police said in a joint statement without divulging details of the rescue operation, which was ordered by President Benigno Aquino III.
In various videos purported posted by Abu Sayyaf, Ridsdel, fellow Canadian Robert Hall and Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad were shown appealing to the Philippine government to stop military operations against the militants.
Jolo Mayor Hussin Amin condemned the beheading, blaming Abu Sayyaf militants, who have been implicated in past kidnappings, beheadings and bombings.
Abu Sayyaf’s strongholds are the islands of Jolo and Basilan in the far south of the Philippines, about 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from Manila.
Abu Sayyaf is also holding other foreigners, including one from the Netherlands, one from Japan, four Malaysians and 14 Indonesian tugboat crew.
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The Abu Sayyaf has said it will behead one of the hostages if ransom demands are not met till April 26.
