Via Guardian:

Islamists in the Philippines have threatened to kill two German hostages unless Germany pays a ransom and withdraws its support for the US fight against Isis in Syria and northern Iraq.

In a message circulated via Twitter, the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group announced it would kill one of the hostages unless its demands were met within 15 days, according to US company Site Intelligence Group, which tracks communications from radical Islamist groups.

The message calls on Germany to “stop supporting America in its killing of our Muslim brothers in Iraq and Syria, especially the mujahideen of the Islamic State”.

The German pair, 71-year-old Stefan O and 55-year-old Henrike D, were reported missing in April, after their yacht was found empty in the Palawan province in the western Philippines. […]

Founded in the early 1990s, the small but active Abu Sayyaf group has been listed as a terrorist organisation since 1997. It rose to prominence after the kidnapping of a group of 21 foreigners in the dive resort of Sipadan in May 2000.

Khair Mundos, a leading figure in the militant group, was arrested in June this year. The group has previously had ties to al-Qaida, though security experts say it now operates autonomously. In June, Abu Sayyaf’s leader, Isnilon Hapilon, announced his group’s support for Isis in a video circulated on the internet.