Muslim extremists in the southern Philippines threatened to kill an American hostage on Tuesday to disprove suspicion by the authorities that he faked his abduction.
In a statement sent to local radio stations, the Abu Sayyaf group strongly denied reports that Jeffrey Schilling had voluntarily walked into the kidnappers camp to be held by the group.
"It is a wrong idea to say that Schilling was a walk-in hostage," Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Cantada said. "Don't force us to execute Schilling to prove that he is not a walk-in hostage.
"If they continue these lies, I will be forced to prove this. Maybe one of these days, we will execute Schilling," he warned.
Press reports had said that the US government was ready to file criminal charges against Schilling due to allegations he allegedly connived with members of the Abu Sayyaf to fake his abduction when he voluntarily walked into their camp in Jolo island in August.
The government refused to negotiate for his release following reports that Schilling, whose Filipina wife is a relative of an Abu Sayyaf member, visited the camp to arrange an arms deal with the rebels.
The Abu Sayyaf in Jolo had been on a hostage-taking spree since April, seizing dozens of foreign and local hostages and releasing most of them reportedly only after ransom was paid.
The government launched an assault on the Abu Sayyaf in September and recovered most of the hostages, but Schilling and a Filipino hostage still remain in the Abu Sayyaf's hands.
Cantada also denied his group was behind the bomb attacks in Manila on Saturday, saying: "if this is our handiwork, we would openly admit responsibility."
He insisted the group was being used as a scapegoat by the government for the blasts which killed 15 people and injured about 100 others -- ZAMBOANGA (AFP)
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