ASG claims abducting German off Sabah

The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) has claimed abducting a German national and killing his female companion on board a yacht off Sabah, the military said Monday.

Maj. Filemon Tan, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' Western Mindanao Command, said in a report that ASG sub-leader Muamar Askali alias Abu Rami had claimed abducting 70-year-old German Juegen Kantner.

Tan said that based on Askali's claim, they seized the German from a yacht in the vicinity of Tanjong Luuk Pisuk in Sabah, Malaysia.

The German national had a female companion identified as Sabina Wetch, who was left behind by the ASG.

Tan said they received the information about Askali's claim around 10 a.m. Sunday.

Before receiving information on Kantner's abduction, Tan said residents recovered a female foreigner's cadaver in a yacht in the vicinity of Laparan Island, Pangutaran, Sulu around 6 a.m. Sunday.

He said the woman, who bore gunshot wounds in the body, is believed to be Kantner's companion. —ALG, GMA News