Al-Qaeda in the Philippines: Filipino village chief held hostage by terrorists FOUND BEHEADED on remote Southern island of Jolo

Philippines' terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf, kidnaps hostages.

Islamic militants beheaded a Filipino village chief hostage on the far-flung southern island of Jolo, according to police reports.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - The village chief, Rodolfo Boligao, was seized last May an Al-Qaeda-linked group in the Southern Philippines called Abu Sayyaf, which gained international infamy for bombings and kidnapping extravaganzas.

Boligao's handcuffed corpse was discovered late evening of August 11,  with his detached head positioned by his side, reported Chief Inspector Walter Anayo, the police chief of Maimbung town where the village chief's body was recovered. Anayo explained that a piece of paper with the victim's name written on it was placed on top of the body.

"It appears he was beheaded right there on the road," the island province's police chief, Senior Superintendent Mario Buyuccan said. "The body was intentionally left in the middle of the road so that people could find it."

Abu Sayyaf bandits detained Boligao, along with two other members of the coast guard, from the port city of Dapitan in May and demanded an undetermined ransom.

Jolo island, located at the Philippines' southwestern tip is a known refuge of the Abu Sayyaf, a loose band of several hundred armed men, established in 1991 with seed money from Al-Qaeda. The notorious rebel group often resorts to kidnappings for ransom, targeting foreigners whenever possible. The military reported the group beheaded some of its hostages and is currently holds more than seven hostages.

The group has performed bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortion in what they justify as their battle for an independent Islamic province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for the most dangerous terror attacks in the country, including the firebombing of a ferry off Manila bay in 2004 that took the lives of over 100 people.

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