Who is the extremist group that beheaded the Canadian hostage

Hostages of the Abu Sayyaf group kidnapped John Ridsdel and extremists: three more people (another Canadian, a Norwegian and a filipina) in September 2015

São Paulo – brutal execution of Canadian John Ridsdel, who was beheaded last weekend by the extremist group Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, shocked the world. Ridsdel, who was 68 years old, former head of a mining company.

Ridsdel's head was found in a bag on the island of Jolo, the 1000 km from the capital Manila early last Monday. The execution happened after expiry of the deadline given by the group to the payment of a ransom estimated at 20 million euros.

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Ridsdel was kidnapped in September 2015 with two other foreigners, the CanadianRobert Hall and also a Norwegian and a filipina woman. The last follow in the terrorists ' power. According to the Government of Canada, there are operations for the release of Hall.

What is it and where did

The Abu Sayyaf group, Arabic term that can be translated as "bearer of the sword" is an old acquaintance of the Philippines. According to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), organization that researches global geopolitical themes, is active since 1990, when separated from one of the largest Islamic separatist movements in the country, the Moro National Liberation Front.

Goal

Your goal is to establish a country for the Muslim population of the Philippines, the largest Catholic country in Asia, and its main focuses of activity are the Sulu archipelago, which is located in the southwest region, and Mindanao, second largest Philippine island and the eighth largest in the world in number of inhabitants (about 22 million).

Where it operates

Although her acting rejected by the majority of the population of the country, including moderate Muslims, a recent study from Stanford University showed that the Group has the support of the Philippine community plots, especially in Mindanao.

Abu Sayyaf is behind a series of kidnappings, bombings and other crimes since its emergence in the years 90. In 2004, for example, was responsible for the largest terrorist attack in the country's history: an explosion on a boat that killed more than 100people.

Links with international terrorism

As well as other terrorist organizations, the Group operates in a decentralized manner, in cells, and its main founders were trained in Middle Eastern countries such as Libya and Saudi Arabia.

In the eyes of the United States, which since 2001 works with the Philippine Army in efforts to contain the Abu Sayyaf group is a terrorist organization whose ties have included the Al-Qaida network and extremists from the Jemaah Islamiyah of Indonesia. In 2015, Abu Sayyaf swore allegiance to the Islamic State.