German in '08 kidnapping said to now be missing in Philippines

A Philippine naval crew boards a yacht over the weekend off the Sulu Sea in this photo provided by the military’s Western Mindanao Command.
A Philippine naval crew boards a yacht over the weekend off the Sulu Sea in this photo provided by the military’s Western Mindanao Command.

MANILA, Philippines -- A German kidnapped by Somali pirates eight years ago might now be held captive by Islamic militants in the southern Philippines, the country's military said Monday after finding the man's yacht and a woman's body inside.

Abu Sayyaf spokesman Muamar Askali claimed that the militants kidnapped Jurgen Gustav Kantner and killed his female companion while the couple were cruising off neighboring Malaysia's Sabah state, said regional military spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan.

It's not clear why the woman was killed, but it's possible she may have fought back or tried to escape, Tan and another military official said.

Villagers reported finding a dead woman beside a shotgun on board a light blue yacht with the German flag and marked "Rockall," Tan said. The yacht was found off Laparan Island in Sulu province, an area where ransom-seeking militants have held many hostages in jungle camps.

Kantner, 69, and his wife were kidnapped off Somalia on board the Rockall in 2008 and later released by the Somali pirates, Tan said. Authorities did not know whether the woman kidnapped in Somalia was the same woman who was killed in the Philippines.

Troops took custody of the woman's body and the yacht Monday. Both were being examined by police investigators in Tawi-Tawi province near Sulu, the military's Western Mindanao Command said in a statement.

The military said the body was found "naked and had several contusions to the face and was possibly raped."

In Berlin, Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said German authorities were working with their Philippine counterparts to learn what happened.

"We can and will confirm such reports ... only when German consular employees have really established without doubt, with their own eyes and ears or by other means, that they are correct," Schaefer said. "We're not there yet."

Abu Sayyaf, which is blacklisted by the U.S. and the Philippines as a terrorist organization, holds more than a dozen foreign and local hostages.

Abu Sayyaf and allied gunmen have committed many attacks at sea despite efforts by the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia to jointly shore up security along their busy sea border. Indonesians and Malaysians have been kidnapped from tugboats and fishing boats in recent months.

Indonesia's Foreign Ministry confirmed receiving information about the separate kidnappings of two Indonesian skippers of vessels off Sabah over the weekend, saying it was in touch with Malaysian and Philippine government officials about the latest abductions.

Indonesia's government has urged Indonesian crewmen in Sabah to avoid sailing in the risky waters until security has improved, the ministry said.

The kidnappings have continued despite a military offensive against Abu Sayyaf, mainly in Sulu and the nearby island province of Basilan, involving more than 6,000 troops, navy gunboats and rocket-firing aircraft.

Without a known foreign source of funds, Abu Sayyaf has survived mostly on ransom kidnappings, extortion and other acts of banditry.

A confidential Philippine government threat assessment report seen by The Associated Press said the militants pocketed at least $7.3 million from ransom kidnappings in the first six months of the year and have turned to abductions of foreign tugboat crewmen as military offensives restrict their mobility.

Anticipating that Abu Sayyaf may soon demand ransom for the German, Tan appealed for people to follow the Philippine government's no-ransom policy.

"If we give in to ransom, a greater damage will be done. They can use the money to buy arms and to feed their bandits, and that will fuel again the tendency for them to kidnap," Tan said. "It becomes a lucrative business."

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who took office June 30, has ordered troops to destroy Abu Sayyaf and has ruled out the possibility of any peace talks with the group. He has pursued talks with two other, larger Muslim insurgent groups.

The government report said Abu Sayyaf had 481 fighters with 438 firearms in the first half of the year, but the military reported last week that it had killed 70 of the militants and captured 32 others since July in Basilan and Sulu, a predominantly Muslim province about 590 miles south of Manila.

Information for this article was contributed by Geir Moulson of The Associated Press.

A Section on 11/08/2016

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