Philippine militants 'Abu Sayyef' executed Canadian hostage

AhlulBayt News Agency - A Canadian man being held hostage by a militant group in the Philippines has been killed.

The extremist group Abu Sayyef had warned it would kill Robert Hall today if a multi-million dollar ransom wasn't paid.

Sources close to the situation in Jolo, the island where the al-Qaeda-linked group is based, and within Philippine security, confirmed Hall's death early Monday.

Hall, who was from Calgary, had been held since Sept. 21, 2015 — one of four hostages that included former mining executive and fellow Canadian John Ridsdel, who was killed by the group in late April. Ridsdel and Hall were abducted from a seaside resort along with a Filipino woman and a Norwegian man.

An official announcement is expected shortly. The condition of the remaining hostages is not known.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month urged fellow G7 leaders to refuse to pay ransom for hostages. He said at the time the Canadian flag should not be "a target when worn on a backpack around the world."

Canada did not negotiate with the group but lent assistance to the Philippine military, which has carried out operations against the group in recent weeks, according to cbc news correspondent Sasa Petricic.

"We are told by the Philippine military that, in fact, it had at least a couple of the Canadian military who were assisting — not on the ground, not on the frontlines — but assisting as consultants with the Philippine government," Petricic said from Manila.




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