Two Vietnamese Sailors Beheaded by Abu Sayyaf
The Abu Sayyaf group beheaded two Vietnamese nationals held hostage for almost eight months, CNN reported quoting the military.
Colonel Juvymax Uy, commander of Joint Task Force Basilan, said the bodies of Mr Hoang Trung Thong and Mr Hoang Va Hai were found at 5.40am on Wednesday in Tumahubong village, Sumisip town, in Basilan province.
The two were among the six crew members of the MV Royal 16, a Vietnamese cargo vessel, seized by the Abu Sayyaf off Sibago Island in Basilan on Nov 11, 2016. The Abu Sayyaf is a group of ruthless bandits known to behead their hostages unless ransom payments are made.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the beheading is the Abu Sayyaf's attempt at showing force amid heightened military operations that "degraded their capacity."
Abu Sayyaf, originally a loose network of Islamic militants formed in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, has splintered into factions, with some continuing to engage in banditry and kidnappings.
One faction has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, with members among those holding parts of Marawi, the largely Catholic nation's most important Islamic city.