Philippines to crack down on militants after beheading of kidnapped teacher

Severed head of teacher found after family failed to raise ransom demanded by militants believed to be linked to al-Qaida Source: Guardian

The Philippine government today promised to hunt down al-Qaida-linked militants suspected of beheading a schoolteacher whose family failed to raise a ransom demanded by his kidnappers.

Workers at a petrol station on southern Jolo island found the severed head of Gabriel Canizares, 36, in a bag three weeks after suspected Abu Sayyaf militants stopped a passenger minibus and dragged him away in front of his colleagues, said a regional military commander, Major General Benjamin Dolorfino.

The militants, notorious for bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings, were reportedly demanding a ransom of 2m pesos (about £25,500) for his release.

Dolorfino said the demand was later halved but Canizares' family was able to raise only 150,000 pesos. A school principal usually makes at least 23,000 pesos a month in the impoverished country.

"The demand could not be met," Dolorfino said.

The president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, today ordered the military and police to put an end to the Abu Sayyaf group's "heinous and inhumane atrocities", her spokeswoman, Lorelei Fajardo, said. "We shall make them pay for the enormity of this savagery," Fajardo said. Dolorfino said troops were preparing an operation against the militants.

Abu Sayyaf, which is suspected of receiving funds from al-Qaida, is believed to have about 400 fighters on Jolo and nearby Basilan island. The group has been sheltering militants from the larger south-east Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, the military says.

Despite years of US military training and assistance, Filipino troops have struggled to contain the militants, who have recently intensified attacks on Jolo, blowing up bridges, firing mortar shells and setting off roadside bombs.

A landmine explosion on 29 September under a military convoy carrying American troops killed two US army special forces soldiers, the first US military deaths in the southern Philippines in seven years.

About 600 US troops are stationed in the south but are barred by Philippine law from engaging in direct combat.

The education secretary, Jesli Lapus, expressed shock at the teacher's killing, saying six other teachers who had been kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf this year had all been released despite threats to behead them. He said his department was at a loss how to ensure security for teachers in high-risk areas and feared that the kidnappings would discourage others from teaching underprivileged youths in Muslim areas.