Body of beheaded German hostage Jurgen Kantner found in southern Philippines

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In this undated image made from militant video and released by SITE Intel Group shows German hostage Jurgen Gustav Kantner at an undisclosed location. Abu Sayyaf extremists in the Philippines beheaded Kantner. Photo: AP

Published: 3:48pm, 5 Mar 2017Updated: 10:15pm, 5 Mar 2017

The body of an elderly German hostage who was beheaded by Islamic militants has been found, the Philippine government said on Sunday.

The Abu Sayyaf, a kidnap-for-ransom network that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, murdered Jurgen Kantner, 70, last week after its demands for 30 million pesos ($600,000) were not met.

Marines dug up the head and body late Saturday in the mountainous hinterlands of Indanan town in Sulu province.

A body bag containing the remains of German national Jurgen Kantner, who was beheaded by Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf militants, lies inside a morgue in Sulu province. Photo: Reuters

“The Philippine government is deeply saddened but resolved as ever to respond to the recent discovery of the body of Mr. Jurgen Kantner,” President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

Troops have clashed with the Abu Sayyaf in recent days, leaving 29 soldiers injured and 14 militants dead, according to the military which says it has been unable to recover the bodies of slain guerrillas.

“It was not easy to find it because of the fighting with the Abu Sayyaf kidnap group that resulted in the wounding of 29 of our men and in the wounding of many of the enemy,” said Colonel Cirilito Sobejana, head of an anti-terror task force in the southern islands.