Manila: Philippine authorities have given the green light to the police and the army to attempt the rescue of two German tourists being held hostage by the Islamist group Abu Sayyaf which threatened to kill one of them Friday.
“The operation will begin at any moment, but we are identifying the exact location of some of the Abu Sayyaf leaders and members,” said Col. Allan Arojado, the army commander on Jolo island where the hostages are believed to be held.
The army has sent a special unit tasked with law enforcement operations to join the seven battalions on Jolo island located some 980 km south of Manila, Spanish news agency Efe reported.
“We will do everything not to endanger their lives,” Arojado added.
The rebels threatened to behead one of the Germans Friday if they were not paid a $5.6-million ransom and if Germany did not stop supporting the US offensive against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in the Middle East.
On Wednesday, the Islamist group expressed its willingness to withdraw the ultimatum if negotiations with Philippines Foreign Minister Alberto del Rosario were started.
But both the Philippines and German governments said they would not waver from their policy of not negotiating with terrorists.
“Neither the Philippine nor the German government have made contact with us,” Abu Sayyaf spokesperson, Abu Rami, told the Inquirer daily.
The German hostages, Viktor Okonek, 74, and Henrite Dielen, 42, were kidnapped from their yacht off Palawan Island in April although it was not until September that the militants threatened to kill the hostages if their demands were not met.
Okonek, who has asked both governments for help on several occasions, spoke to the media again Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Philippine terrorist group released a photo showing the doctor seated inside what was allegedly his grave with his hands tied behind his back and a flag associated with Al Qaeda in the background.
According to an earlier report Friday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said they would not negotiate with the Abu Sayyaf rebels who have threatened to behead one of the two German hostages being held for ransom.
An AFP official made the announcement as Abu Sayyaf is calling for the withdrawal of government forces in Sulu as one of the conditions not to behead one of the German captives, The Manila Times reported.
The AFP official said they could not give exact details on the whereabouts of the captive German nationals as of this time.
The official added that they have no information yet on whether the rebel group has decided to behead one of their captives as the deadline has lapsed.
But, he stressed that beheading innocent civilians is frowned upon by Islam.
Abu Sayyaf, formed by about 400 rebels, have held two other European hostages — a Dutch citizen and a Swiss — since 2012, along with a Malaysian coast guard and a Chinese woman and her daughter.
The group was created in 1991 by a handful of Afghanistan war veterans who had fought against the former Soviet Union, and is responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks in recent years in the Philippines, along with numerous kidnappings with which the group finances itself.