The military said late Wednesday, August 24, that a kidnap victim was beheaded, reportedly by the Abu Sayyaf.
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The latest beheading of an 18-year-old minor by the Abu Sayyaf Group prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to order anew the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to seek out the lair of the ASG and “destroy them”.
The Abu Sayyaf has been blacklisted as a terrorist organization by the USA and the Philippines for deadly bombings, kidnappings and beheadings.
While he was saddened by the beheading of Almodovar, Mr. Duterte warned the Abu Sayyaf could not kill their Norwegian hostage Kjartan Sekkingstad because they were paid PHP50 million for his supposed release last July.
“My order to the police and to the armed forces against all enemies of this state [is to] seek out, seek them out.Destroy them. Go out and destroy them”. But that is just a campaign.
Thousands of reinforcement troops were being flown by C130 cargo planes to Sulu and nearby Basilan island to help in an ongoing offensive against the militants, Tan said.
“All Infantry Divisions were required to send troops [to Sulu and Basilan] because the focus is now on the anti-terrorism efforts in the Westmincom, which has been listed as top priority of the Duterte administration”, he underlined.
Recently, the military reported the rescue of two Indonesian crewmen of an Indonesian tugboat, one of whom said he escaped when the Abu Sayyaf threatened to behead him for the reported failure of the vessel owners to pay a huge ransom demand.
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The Abu Sayyaf is among two militant groups in the south who have pledged allegiance to Daesh, prompting fears during the stalling of a peace process between the government and the country’s biggest Moro group that it could make inroads in a region torn by decades of armed conflict.
