The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has condemned the killing of a Canadian hostage kidnapped by Islamist militants in the Philippines.
John Ridsdel, 68, was taken from a tourist resort with three others by the Abu Sayyaf group in September 2015, the BBC reports
In November, the Islamist militants released a video showing Mr. Ridsdel and three other captives, and demanded a ransom of $80m (£55m).
Mr. Trudeau called his death “an act of cold-blooded murder.”
On Monday, a severed head was found on remote Jolo, hours after the Abu Sayyaf ransom deadline expired.
Local authorities said it belonged to a foreign man but have not confirmed whether it belonged to any of the captives.
Mr. Ridsdel was taken to Jolo after being kidnapped from a marina near the city of Davao, along with another Canadian, Robert Hall; a Norwegian, Kjartan Sekkingstad; and a Philippine woman, Mr. Hall’s girlfriend, Marites Flor.
Mr. Ridsdel later warned in a video released by the group that he was due to be killed on April 25 if no ransom was paid.
The Canadian government has a policy against paying ransoms, The Globe and Mail cited a government official as saying.