Dead woman found in Sulu after Abu Sayyaf claims abducting German

Abu Sayyaf group. AP FILE PHOTO

Residents found a dead woman on a yacht abandoned in Sulu on Sunday, the same day the Abu Sayyaf claimed abducting a German man and killing his female companion in Tawi-tawi.

Major Filemon Tan Jr., Western Mindanao Command spokesperson, said on Monday that the female foreigner in her 50s was found on a sky blue yacht with the markings “ROCK ALL” and flying a German flag.

Tan said the yacht was found on Laparan Island in Pangutaran, Sulu, at about 6 a.m.

“The cadaver was found to have had gunshot wounds and a gun was found beside the body,” he added.

Also on Sunday, a certain Muamar Askali, who identified himself a spokesperson of the Abu Sayyaf, called the Inquirer and claimed that they had kidnapped a German tourist in Tanjung Pisut, Tawi-tawi.

He added that they killed his female companion.

Talking to the Inquirer, the alleged kidnap victim identified himself as Juegen Kantner, 70. He identified his female companion only as “Sabrina.”

“Pirates took our boat and they took us. We [ask] the [German] embassy to help us,” he told the Inquirer.

Askali said they killed the companion of Kantner because she tried to shoot them.

The military said it was trying to validate the claim of the Abu Sayyaf of abducting a German man and killing his female companion.

“Efforts to validate the said information are now being done. Joint Task Force Sulu alerted its units while also intensifying info collection,” AFP Western Mindanao Command spokesperson Major Filemon Tan Jr. said on Monday./rga