MANILA: A Filipino construction worker kidnapped by militia men in Libya has been beheaded by his captors, becoming the first Filipino casualty in the renewed violence in the North African state, the Philippine government said.

Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said the Filipino worker was kidnapped on July 15. He was subsequently beheaded and his decomposed body was found on Sunday in a hospital in Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city.

“The vehicle he was riding in was stopped in a checkpoint. There were three of them – a Libyan, a Pakistani and a Filipino – and he was allegedly singled out because he was non-Muslim,” Jose said.

The kidnappers initially demanded a $160,000 ransom from the worker’s employers. But the abductors called again on Sunday, pointing them to the Benghazi hospital.

Jose said it was possible the Filipino was already dead while the kidnappers were negotiating for ransom. His family has requested that the worker’s name not be released.—AP

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2014