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Southeast Asia
Abu Sayyaf sets ransom-or-decapitation deadline
2016-05-18
[CNN] The Abu Sayyaf, which beheaded a Canadian hostage last month, has threatened to execute another foreign captive if a P600 million ransom isn't paid by June 13.

Canadian Robert Hall and Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad, two of four hostages kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf on Samal Island last September, once again appeared in a video acquired by the SITE Intelligence Group.

Sekkingstad and Hall were wearing orange shirts, in a jungle surrounded by masked militants. Hall said, "I'm told to tell you that on June the 13th at 3 pm, I will be murdered if the demand is not met. I appeal to my government, the Philippine government as I have appealed before for help."

Sekkingstad likewise asked help from the governments of Norway, Canada and the Philippines. The ransom "worth 6 hundred million pesos" was in the text displayed on the video.

Hall, Sekkingstad, and Filipino Tess Flor are still being held by the Abu Sayyaf after the militants beheaded another Canadian, John Ridsdel, on April 25. A plastic bag containing Ridsdel's severed head was later found on a street in Jolo, Sulu.

The video also showed eight gunmen wearing military-style camouflage uniforms and carrying assault rifles holding two flags. One black flag with white Arabic characters is similar to the flag carried by Daesh fighters.
Posted by:ryuge

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