Militant group Abu Sayyaf has threatened to behead two German hostages it abducted last April unless Germany pays a P250-million ($5.62 million) ransom and stops supporting US-led air strikes against the Islamic State group (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq.
According to a report on terrorist activity-monitoring website SITE Intelligence group, the Abu Sayyaf Group posted a message on Twitter saying it would kill one of the two hostages if its demands were not met within 15 days.
SITE also posted a picture attributed to the Abu Sayyaf group showing brandishing a machete while grabbing the shirt of a grey-haired man. A younger woman was also shown, while other masked men armed with assault rifles and machine guns surround them.
German nationals Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and Herike Diesen, 55 were reportedly abducted at sea in April while heading to Sabah from a holiday in Palawan. The two were reported missing after Filipino fishermen spotted their empty yacht.
There are about 10 more hostages in Abu Sayyaf custody at the moment, including two European birdwatchers kidnapped in February 2012, a Japanese, and some Filipinos.
