Philippines steps up army patrols on island where Germans held -...

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The Philippines on Thursday (October 16) stepped up army patrols in the jungles of the southern island of Jolo where al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants are holding two Germans captive and are threatening to kill one of them.

The militants from the Abu Sayyaf group have demanded a 250 million pesos ($5.6 million) ransom and for Germany to stop supporting U.S.-led air strikes in Syria in exchange for the freedom of the German man and woman.

They have threatened to behead the man on Friday (October 17).

The commander of army units on Jolo said he was ordering more patrols, and they would do everything to avoid endangering the lives of the hostages.

The armed forces' public affairs head in Manila said they were prepared for any outcome.

"We are studying the possibilities: one, they might extend the deadline; two, they might behead the hostages. And in every event, in every possibility, we came up with courses of action," Lieutenant Colonel Harold Cabunoc said.

"Our aim is also the same with anybody else in the government. We would like to, as much as possible, take the hostages back safely. We would like to minimize any collateral damage in our military operations and this is the reason why the chief of staff had ordered the deployment of elite troops who can perform their jobs a lot better than anybody else," he added.

The German man said in a radio interview on Wednesday (October 15) that he was being held in a hole in the ground which he had been told would be his grave if the rebels' demands were not met.

Abu Rami, a spokesman for the militant group, said they would execute the man at 3 p.m. (0700 GMT) on Friday after giving both the Philippines and Germany enough time to meet their demands.

The Abu Sayyaf has in the past released video statements expressing allegiance to Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.

The rebels want an independent Islamic nation in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic Philippines and have earned a reputation for kidnapping in both the southern Philippines and eastern Malaysia.

REUTERS