Philippines says still to find beheaded Canadian's body

By Hader Glang

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (AA) - Six days after a Canadian captive was beheaded by Daesh-linked militants in a predominantly Muslim province in southern Sulu, Philippine government forces are still to find his body.

Army Spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan said in a statement Sunday they were yet to receive positive results about the body of Canadian Robert Hall, whose severed head has already been recovered.

The Abu Sayyaf beheaded Hall June 13 after a deadline set by the group for the delivery of a 600 million peso ($13 million) ransom was missed.

Hall's beheading followed that of another Canadian captive April 25 after a 300 million peso ransom also failed to be paid.

John Ridsdel's body was found in a mountainous clearing near Talipao town in Sulu province days later.

The two Canadians were seized by armed men from a high-end resort on Samal Island in September 2015, along with Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad and Filipina Marites Flor.

They were later brought to Sulu.

The military said Sunday that the group is still holding Elwood Horn, a Dutchman kidnapped along with an European bird-watcher in 2012 in Tawi-Tawi and, and some local captives including Hall's girlfriend Flor.

"Our efforts continue to locate the body of Robert Hall. It's very important to recover the body so it will be returned to Canada, especially to his family who exert effort to get it," Tan said, adding that they had been analyzing leads to determine where Hall was killed and locate the body.

Tan called reports that four Malaysians had been abducted by the group last week "a mere rumor".

A June 16 ABS CBN report had quoted the Tawi-Tawi police chief as saying that the four were abducted off Malaysia's coast and allegedly brought to Sulu.

Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf group -- armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles-- has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortions in a self-determined fight for an independent province in the Philippines.

It is notorious for beheading victims after ransoms have failed to be paid for their release.