Sayyaf dumps head of murdered Canadian in Southern Philippines

From the Mindanao Examiner (Jun 14): Sayyaf dumps head of murdered Canadian in Southern Philippines
 

Security forces have recovered the severed head of Canadian national Robert Hall who was executed by the ISIS-linked Abu Sayyaf group in southern Philippines, the military said.

It said the head was discovered by civilians outside a Catholic church in the town of Jolo in Sulu, one of five provinces under the volatile Muslim autonomous region, where Hall, 50, was killed Monday afternoon.

Army Major Filemon Tan, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, said the head is now in the custody of police forensic experts. He said Hall’s body is still missing.

It was unknown why the police and military failed to arrest those who dumped the head in Jolo despite the huge presence of security forces in the town.

The military and the provincial government condemned the brutal murder of Hall which coincided during the holy month of Ramadan.

He was the second Canadian hostage beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf since April after it killed 68-year old John Ridsdel in Sulu when it failed to get ransoms from their families and their government. Ridsdel’s severed head was also dumped in Jolo hours after he was murdered.

The Abu Sayyaf demanded P300 million for each of the hostages, who were kidnapped along with Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad, 56, and his Filipina girlfriend, Maritess Flor on September 21 last year on Samal Island in Davao Oriental province and brought by boat to Sulu.

The military said operations against the Abu Sayyaf will continue. “Tuloy-tuloy naman ang focused military operation natin, intell-driven naman ito at the same time ino-obserbahan rin natin at nire-respeto ang ating mga kapatid na Muslim sa panahon ng Ramadhan,” said Col. Noel Detoyato, a military spokesman.

The military’s Western Mindanao Command under General Mayoralgo dela Cruz did not give any details of the on-going operations against the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu. President Benigno Aquino has previously ordered a massive assault on the jihadist group also blamed for the spate of terrorism there.

Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman also denounced Hall’s murder. “It has only been a week since Ramadan began, and it is appalling that this holy month we set aside for prayer and reflection has been already been violated by extremists here and abroad, as they wage violence in the name of our faith,” he said.

Hataman said the extremists claim to follow the faith while they go against Islam’s message of peace and humanity.  He said their betrayal of Islam knows no bounds that even in the most holy days of Ramadan; they turn a time meant for prayers and contemplation into days of fear and horror. 

“Violence cannot and must not be so easily associated with one people, race, or culture. Many try to distort the Islam we know by heart, and it is our responsibility to make the truth of Islam known to people.  Those who tread the path of violence and claim to do it in the name of Islam are, without question, merely men of sin who distort a faith that stands for peace,” he added.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also denounced Hall’s murder and branded the killing as “vicious acts of hatred and violence.” He praised Hall’s family for their strength of character in their resilience in the face of what he described as a terrible situation.

“This is a grievous loss for them, and their country mourns with them,” Trudeau said in a brief press conference in the foyer of the House of Commons, according to Canada’s CBC News.

http://mindanaoexaminer.com/sayyaf-dumps-head-of-murdered-canadian-in-southern-philippines/