A Canadian man held captive by Islamist militants for months in the Philippines has been killed.
John Ridsdel, 68, was taken from a tourist resort along with three others by the Abu Sayyaf group in September last year.
Confirming the death, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it "an act of coldblooded murder".
On Monday a severed head was found on a remote Philippine island, hours after an Abu Sayyaf ransom deadline expired.
The Philippine army has not confirmed if it belonged to one of the captives.
Mr Ridsdel was 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.
They were taken 500km (300 miles) to the island of Jolo. Abu Sayyaf released a video of the group in November, demanding $80m (£55m) for their release.
Mr Ridsdel later warned that he was due to be killed if no ransom was paid.
Several hours after the deadline, a severed head was found in a street on Jolo. The Philippine authorities said it belonged to a foreign man but it has not yet been formally identified.
Source: BBC
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