Muslim militants behead 7 in Philippines
JOLO, Philippines — Muslim extremists decapitated seven men they were holding hostage on the southern Philippine island of Jolo and sent the heads in sacks to two army detachments, the military said yesterday.
‘‘This is a terrorist act that should be condemned by all,’’ Major General Ruben Rafael, leader of military forces on Jolo, said.
Earlier, Rafael said his soldiers had discovered the headless bodies of six men close to Parang town, where they had been kidnapped on Monday by the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim rebel group.
A seventh man was kidnapped in the area earlier that day.
Rafael said Abu Sayyaf may have beheaded the men in retaliation for the military killing more than 70 of its members, including two top leaders, in an eight-month ground offensive backed by US advisers.
The Abu Sayyaf gained international notoriety around five years ago when its members captured and beheaded tourists and church workers.
This week, the group had demanded 5 million pesos ($105,000) for the release of six of the men, who were working on a government road project and taken at gunpoint from their truck.
The Abu Sayyaf, with an estimated 400 fighters, carried out the Philippines’ worst terrorist attack, the bombing of a ferry near Manila in 2004 that killed more than 100 people. 