Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is still verifying the supposed video showing a German national currently held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Sulu.
The terrorist group is asking for a P30 million ransom for 70-year-old Jurgen Kantner–giving February 26 as the deadline.
Kantner was abducted by Abu Sayyaf fighters in November 2016 with his partner Sabine Merz, while the couple was sailing on a yacht in Sabah.
Merz, reportedly armed with a shotgun, tried to shoot their abductors. The Abu Sayyaf shot back and killed her.
The yacht was recovered in Pangutaran Island in Sulu, where the naked body of Merz was also found.
The AFP does not support paying ransom, as it only strengthens the terrorist group. This will also encourage more people to join as it can be a “lucrative source of income.”
But according to the ASG, the ransom money is used to buy firearms or distributed among mujahideen, or those engaged in jihad or holy war.
The ASG has pledged its allegiance in 2014 to one of the world’s deadliest terrorist groups, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
