The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has condemned the murder of a Canadian hostage kidnapped by Islamist militants in the Philippines.
John Ridsdel, 68, was taken from a tourist resort with three others by the Abu Sayyaf group in September 2015.
In November, the Islamist militants released a video showing Ridsdel and three other captives, and demanded a ransom of $80m (£55m).
On Monday, a severed head was found on remote Jolo, hours after the Abu Sayyaf ransom deadline expired. Local authorities said it belonged to a foreign man but have not confirmed whether it belonged to any of the captives.
Ridsdel was taken to Jolo after being kidnapped from a marina near the city of Davao, along with another Canadian, Robert Hall; a Norwegian, Kjartan Sekkingstad; and a Philippine woman, Hall’s girlfriend, Marites Flor.
Ridsdel later warned in a video released by the group that he was due to be killed on April 25 if no ransom was paid, reports the BBC.
The Canadian government has a policy against paying ransoms, ‘The Globe’ and ‘Mail’ cited a government official as saying.
