The Philippine Army says Abu Sayyaf militants linked to the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group have beheaded one of four Filipino fishermen they took captive in December.
Brigadier General Cirilito Sobejana, military commander on the southern island of Jolo said on Sunday that the boat’s captain had been executed in the jungle near the town of Patikul on Thursday but his remains have yet to be recovered, Sky News reported.
Noel Besconde was abducted by the Abu Sayyaf group, along with three crewmen in December, while on board a fishing vessel in the Celebes Sea.
Abu Sayyaf is a small but brutal militant group known for beheading, kidnapping, bombing and extortion in the south of the mainly Catholic country.
Sobejana said it was likely the abductors beheaded Besconde because he was sick and had become a liability.
Sobejana said the group had demanded 3 million pesos ($79,000) ransom for Besconde, but the government maintains its policy of refusing to pay ransom.
The army has declared all-out war with Abu Sayyaf on the islands of Jolo and Basilan, but is hamstrung by its presence among large civilian communities.
