MANILA - Two Germans being held by an Islamist group in the southern Philippines appealed to the Philippine and German governments to secure their release through a message on local radio on Monday, days after the militants threatened to kill them.The Abu Sayyaf group has demanded that the German government stop supporting US action against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and wants a ransom paid for the captives. It has said it would behead one of them if the demands are not met by Oct. 10."We were sailing on our sailboat and unfortunately I was taken hostage," he said, adding that he was concerned for his health.According to media reports, the two Germans were seized at gunpoint from a yacht between Malaysian Borneo and the southern Philippines in April.
They have previously been identified by Philippine military officials as Stefan Okonek, a doctor in his early 70s, and Henrike Dielen, in her mid-50s.
In the radio broadcast, a female captive appealed to the authorities to get them out soon, saying that "living in the jungle is also very dangerous because we can contract any tropical disease".
