This handout file photo released by Tawi-Tawi police on February 3, 2012, bird watchers Swiss Lorenzo Vinciguerra (C), Dutchman Ewold Horn (L), and Filipino guide Ivan Sarenas (R) prepare their meal in Tawi-Tawi prior to their abduction. AFP / Tawi-Tawi
Doha: The State of Qatar condemned the killing of a Dutch hostage in the Philippines during clashes between the kidnappers and the army south of the country.
In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the State of Qatar's firm stance on rejecting violence and terrorism, regardless of motives and reasons.
The statement expressed the State of Qatar's condolences to the victim's family, the government and people of the Netherlands.
The Dutch citizen, who has been held hostage by a group linked to ISIS in the Philippine, has been killed in clashes on Friday between soldiers and the kidnapper in the south of the country, the Philippine military said, accusing his captors of killing him while trying to escape.
"Ewold Horn, 59, had been held since 2012 by the Abu Sayyaf group and was fatally wounded by his captors on Friday as he tried to escape from a gun battle between members of the organization and army troops on the southwestern island of Jolo in Sulu province," military commander brigadier general Divino Pabayo Jr said.
The Dutch embassy in Manila has not issued any comments on the news so far, nor has the Hague issued any comment on the operation
