Philippine militant group posts video claiming to show beheading of German hostage

An Islamic State-affiliated group in the Philippines posted a video on Monday purporting to show the beheading of a 71-year-old German hostage after a deadline for his ransom had expired, a monitoring group reported.

The SITE Intelligence Group said the video was posted by the Abu Sayyaf group on its Telegram social media account and follows Sunday’s deadline for about $600,000 in ransom.

The authenticity of the video could not be confirmed independently, but a German government spokesman called the slaying a “sad certainty.” Abu Sayyaf has carried out similar beheadings of captives in the past, and the latest video brought swift condemnation from authorities in the Philippines.

“We grieve as we strongly condemn the barbaric beheading of yet another kidnap victim,” said Jesus Dureza, an adviser to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

The video shows a confused-looking Jürgen Kantner surrounded by armed and masked men in camouflage. “They kill me now,” Kantner says before a man with a curved knife saws his head off. The severed head is displayed for the camera.

Kantner last appeared in a video on Feb. 14, when Abu Sayyaf militants demanded the ransom and threatened to kill him if the money was not delivered.

 

Read the whole story from The Washington Post.

Featured image courtesy of EPA.