Abu Sayyaf rebels dumped severed head

- Two men on a motorcycle on Monday in the town of Jolo in the same Philippine island dumped a plastic bag containing a head. The Islamist rebel group Abu Sayyaf had threatened to behead one of four hostages when Monday 15:00 local time no ransom of 300 million pesos (5.6 million euros) was paid for each of them.

The Philippine military does not yet have established who is the head. The hostages, two Canadians, a Norwegian and a Filipino woman who had previously seen in a video message. They were kidnapped on September 21 from a resort on the island of Samal.

Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to al Qaeda who is known for his cruelty. In November last year the group beheaded a hostage from Malaysia on the day arrived, the prime minister of that country to an international conference in Manila. The group has several other hostages in its power, including the Dutchman Ewold Horn, a Japanese, four Malaysians and fourteen crew of an Indonesian tugboat.