|
 The hostages, captured by militants of the Abu Sayyaf group in
April from a yacht on the high seas, are being held in the interior
of the remote island of Jolo, 600 miles (960 km) south of Manila.
Al Kataib, a man who described himself as an associate of militant
spokesman Abu Rami, said in a telephone call to reporters in
Zamboanga City that the group got a portion of the 250 million
Philippine pesos ($5.56 million) they had been demanded by Friday
and "would not touch" the German they had threatened to behead.
He declined to say how much money they had got, or give details
about who had paid it.
A government official confirmed that the German man had not been
killed.
"The beheading will not happen," said the government source who
declined to be identified.
The official, who was privy to the negotiations with the rebels,
said about 60 million pesos had been paid. The remainder would be
delivered after more talks, the official said.
The Abu Sayyaf, which says it supports Islamic State fighters in the
Middle East, have also demanded that Germany stops supporting
U.S.-led air strikes on Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria.
German government sources told Reuters that Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier had sent a special envoy to the Philippines
to negotiate a deal.
[to top of second column] |
The envoy, Ruediger Koenig, had arrived in Manila, the sources said
on Thursday evening.
The rebels have a record of kidnappings, killings and bombings.
Some Muslim groups in the southern Philippines have long been
fighting Manila's rule, but Abu Sayyaf burst into prominence in 2000
after kidnapping 21 tourists and workers from a dive resort in
nearby Malaysia.
(Reporting by Manuel Mogato and Karen Lema in Manila and Michael
Nienaber in Berlin; Writing by Karen Lema; Editing by Raju
Gopalakrishnan and Robert Birsel)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
