London - Islamist militants have killed a German woman and abducted her elderly husband from a yacht in the southern Philippines, according to the military.
The victims, who have not been formally identified, are believed to be Sabine Merz and 70-year-old Jurgen Kantner, the same couple who were abducted by Somali pirates and held hostage for 58 days off the Gulf of Aden in 2008.
A commander from Abu Sayyaf, a group known for kidnapping foreigners and beheading them when ransom demands are not met, has claimed responsibility for the most recent incident.
Military spokesman Filemon Tan said the military had found the couple’s yacht with the body of a naked woman aboard matching Merz's description, who had been shot. In an audio recording heard by the military, the abducted man identified himself as Kantner, and named his companion as Sabine.
In a 2009 interview, Kantner said he would never stop sailing despite having been subjected to a mock execution during the pair's kidnapping ordeal in 2008. “My boat is my life and I don't want to lose her, nothing more. I don't care about pirates and governments," he said from Berbera, the main port in Somaliland.
The Philippine military released a photo of the Rockall yacht and said it had a German flag on it.
Tan confirmed the passports of both Merz and Kantner were found aboard and the photo in Merz’s passport appeared to match the body of the woman found dead.
Abu Sayyaf has defied more than a decade of US-backed military offensives to diminish its capacity to carry out lucrative kidnappings in the region. In 2014, the group abducted another German couple from a yacht in the southern Philippines. The pair were released six months later after receiving what they said was the full ransom demand of 250m pesos.
Last week, the US government warned vigilance after it emerged Islamic militants were planning to kidnap foreigners in tourist hotspots of the central Philippines.
The Independent