Head found in Jolo hours after Abu Sayyaf announced Canadian’s beheading

Canadian hostage Robert Hall (left) was killed by Abu Sayyaf terrorists. John Risdell (right) was beheaded by the group on April 25. - The Philippine Inquirer/ANN

ZAMBOANGA CITY: A decapitated head was found in Jolo, Sulu, on Monday night, more than five hours after the Abu Sayyaf claimed it beheaded one of its captives - Canadian Robert Hall.

Superintendent Junpikar Sittin, the chief of police of Jolo, said the head, placed inside a plastic bag, was recovered around 9pm along Sanchez Street beside the Carmelite Cathedral in Jolo.

“Initially, our personnel thought it was an explosive, but when the Soco (Scene of the Crime Operatives) team inspected the plastic bag, it turned out that it’s a head of an old Caucasian man,” Sittin told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone.

“I cannot say outrightly if it belongs to Hall, but based on description, it fits the description,” he said.

It was earlier reported that Abu Sayyaf terrorists killed one of its hostages in Sulu on Monday afternoon, after the 3pm deadline for the payment of a 600mil Peso (RM53.2mil) ransom lapsed.

Abu Raami, the designated spokesperson of the Abu Sayyaf, told The Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone that they had killed Canadian Robert Hall.

Raami said Hall's body would be found somewhere in Jolo town on Monday.  – The Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network