Sayyaf uploads video of German’s beheading
ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Abu Sayyaf yesterday released a video showing the beheading of German captive Juergen Gustav Kantner.
The brief video, circulated on the internet by the SITE Intelligence Group that monitors jihadi websites, was the first sign that the militants proceeded with their threat to kill Kantner.
On Feb. 14, the Abu Sayyaf threatened to execute Kantner if P30 million in ransom was not paid by 3 p.m. of Feb. 26.
The video showed the 70-year-old Kantner sitting in a grassy clearing and saying, “Now he kills me,” shortly before a masked militant beheaded him with a curved knife.
A few gunmen muttered “Allahu Akbar,” or God is great.
The executioner placed the head beside the body after the beheading that occurred in an undisclosed area believed to be in Sulu.
Intelligence reports that circulated on Sunday said the militants led by Muamar Askali alias Abu Rami executed Kantner in Sitio Talibang, Barangay Buanza after the deadline for ransom payment lapsed.
Presidential peace process adviser Jesus Dureza confirmed that the bandit group had beheaded Kantner.
Dureza said the bandits’ barbaric activities must be stopped, noting terrorism has no place in the country.
He said he had always been in contact with the German government in an effort to save Kantner.
Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa also confirmed the beheading, but the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) refused to do so.
The military said the video is not enough proof, as it insisted on finding the victim’s body to confirm the execution.
AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said he would not dignify the video by watching it.
Col. Cirilito Sobejana, chief of the Joint Task Force Sulu, said his men were searching for Kantner’s head and body.
AFP chief Gen. Eduardo Año said they were still verifying the report and have yet to receive confirmation on the ground.
Año said there should be proof such as the identifiable remains of the victim, body parts that can be subjected to DNA and confirmatory testing or a reliable eyewitness account.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana issued a similar statement, saying: “We cannot confirm unless we see the body.”
Operations continue
Capt. Jo Ann Petinglay, spokesperson for the Western Mindanao Command, said reports of Kantner’s beheading have not slowed down the military operations to crush the Abu Sayyaf and rescue all remaining hostages.
The military fired mortar rounds on Abu lairs in the mountains of Al-Barka yesterday morning.
Troops from the Joint Task Force Basilan bombarded the hideout of Abu Sayyaf leader Nurhassan Jamiri in Barangay Makalang at around 3 a.m., Petinglay said.
Reports from ground forces said several mortar rounds hit the bandits’ camp, where about 70 Abu Sayyaf followers led by Jamiri were reportedly encamped.
Al- Barka Mayor Darus Lajid confirmed the bombardment, saying residents from nearby villages fled their homes for fear for their lives.
At least 14 battalions of soldiers are pursuing the militants who have been holding captive seven Filipinos and 20 foreigners, excluding six Vietnamese seized in a recent Tawi-Tawi pirate attack.
Complicated
President Duterte admitted the problem of the Abu Sayyaf is complicated and requires sustained military effort.
“It needs a sustained military action. It cannot be solved by just a command conference here,” Duterte told journalists after presiding over a joint military and police command conference at Malacañang yesterday.
AFP public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo confirmed last night the beheading of Kantner.
“We have finally received information from reliable sources confirming that Mr. Juergen Gustav Kantner was mercilessly and inhumanly murdered by the evil Abu Sayyaf group,” the AFP said in a statement.
“We express our heartfelt sympathies and condole sincerely with the family of Kantner for their loss. TheAFP condemns in the strongest terms this abominable act of ruthlessness, loathe and greed of this evil terrorist group.”
“The deaths of hapless civilians like Mr. Kantner in the hands of these terrorists feed the resolve of our soldiers to hunt down all the perpetrators and bring them to the bar of justice.”