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INDANAN, Philippines (AFP) – A freed Norwegian hostage said he was “lucky to be alive” Sunday, after being kidnapped by Islamic militants and held in the southern Philippine jungle for more than a year. Kjartan Sekkingstad appeared gaunt and frail as he was handed over to a government envoy along with three Indonesian seamen who had been held captive with him. “I am so very happy and lucky to be alive,” Sekkingstad, heavily bearded […]
by Ayee Macaraig MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — A Filipina hostage released by southern Philippine militants on Friday broke down in tears as she recounted how her Canadian boyfriend had been beheaded a week earlier. Marites Flor was abducted in September by Abu Sayyaf militants, along with three others, two of whom — Flor’s partner Robert Hall and fellow Canadian John Ridsdel — were killed. Flor cried as she recounted how the kidnappers led away Hall […]
Ottawa, Canada (AFP) — The Canadian government has “compelling reason to believe” that one of its citizens kidnapped by Islamic militants in the southern Philippines nearly nine months ago has been killed, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday. “It is with deep sadness that I have reason to believe that a Canadian citizen, Robert Hall, held hostage in the Philippines since September 21, 2015, has been killed by his captors,” Trudeau said in a statement. […]
MANILA, Philippines — Malacanang has reiterated its commitment to rescue the remaining hostages being held by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). According to reports, the group has circulated online a video showing the beheading of Canadian John Ridsdel last week. The ASG has also released a video of the remaining three captives pleading to the Canadian and Philippine governments to meet the group’s demands. Addressing the latest threat, Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said […]
(REUTERS) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned on Monday (April 25) the execution of a Canadian hostage by Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines, calling it “an act of cold-blooded murder.” John Ridsdel, 68, a former mining executive, was captured by Islamist militants along with three other people in September 2015 while on vacation on a Philippine island. The Philippine army said a severed head was found on a remote island on Monday, […]
