(Eagle News) — There will be no letup in military offensives against the Abu Sayyaf.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines issued this statement on Tuesday, a day after a German national was confirmed beheaded by the terrorist group in Sulu.
“There will be no letup in our operations until we have rescued all the remaining kidnap victims and we have negated the Abu Sayyaf capability who continue to fight government and perpetrate their terrorist activities,” Col. Edgard Arevalo, AFP Public Affairs chief, said, as he condemned the terrorist group’s killing of Jurgen Kantner in Indanan.
The gruesome beheading was caught on video, which was posted on several Abu Sayyaf-linked sites.
“Now they’ll kill me,” Kantner, who is seen slumped to the ground with his hands tied, can be heard saying.
“The death of hapless civilians like Mr. (Jurgen) Kantner in the hands of these terrorists feed the resolve..to hunt down all the perpetrators and bring them to the bar of justice,” Arevalo added.
He said a team was now dedicated to continue the search for Kantner’s remains so they can be given to his family and the German national can “(be afforded) the burial that he deserves.”
Kantner, who was kidnapped in November, was executed reportedly after the deadline for an Abu Sayyaf-imposed ransom payment in exchange for his release lapsed on Sunday.
In 2008, Kantner and his partner were abducted and held for over a month in Somalia.
They were, however, released reportedly after a ransom was paid.
