Philippine marines find remains of beheaded German hostage
(FOX)- Philippine troops have found the remains of a German hostage who was beheaded by Abu Sayyaf militants in the country’s south, vowing Sunday to rescue more than 30 other captives and crush the ransom-seeking extremists.
Marines dug up the head and body of Jurgen Gustav Kantner late Saturday in the mountainous hinterlands of Indanan town in Sulu province, where the militants are holding at least 31 other foreign and Filipino hostages, said regional military commander Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr.
Duterte has said Filipino forces tried their best but apologized to Germany and Kantner’s family after troops failed to rescue him in his nearly four months of jungle captivity in Sulu, a poor Muslim province 590 miles (950 kilometers) south of Manila.
About two dozen Filipino troops were wounded in clashes that also killed 16 Abu Sayyaf gunmen in efforts to rescue Kantner. After he was beheaded, troops intensified ground assaults and airstrikes.
On Sunday, marines killed four Abu Sayyaf militants in an assault near Sulu’s Maimbung town. At least 10 other militants were killed in a separate clash Friday that also wounded 18 troops near Patikul town, said Sulu’s military commander, Col. Cirilito Sobejana.