KANANASKIS: Canadian hostage John Ridsdel, a former mining executive, has been executed by Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines, a Canadian government official confirmed on Monday.
The Philippine army said a severed head was found on a remote island on Monday, five hours after the expiry of a ransom deadline set by Islamist militants who had threatened to execute one of four captives.
The army would not immediately confirm whether the head was that of one of four people for whom the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf had demanded a ransom.
They are two Canadian men, including Ridsdel, along with one Norwegian man and a Filipino woman, who had appealed in a video for their families and governments to secure their release.
Residents found the head in the centre of Jolo town. An army spokesman said two men on a motorcycle were seen dropping a plastic bag containing the severed head.
