The Canadian kidnap victim beheaded on April 25 (Source: AFP/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – At least 14 gunmen of the Abu Sayyaf group were killed in a military campaign against the terrorist group in the southern Philippine province of Sulu after the group beheaded a Canadian kidnap victim on April 25.
Noel Detoyato, chief of the Philippine Armed Forces’ public information office, said on April 28, that the 14 terrorists were killed during an aerial bombardment and shelling against the group in Patikul and Talipao towns.
The military launched the campaign after the group threatened to behead one of its hostages in September 2015, on Samal island, if authorities failed to deliver 300 million pesos (6.42 million USD) for each victim.
Currently, the group is still detaining over 20 foreign hostages.
Established in the early 1990s, Abu Sayyaf groups around 400 Islamic extremists, mainly operating in the southern region of the Philippines.-VNA
