Friend of Canadian John Ridsdel to continue efforts to save other hostages
The friend of a former Saskatchewan man who was brutally killed by terrorists is speaking out with the hope that the other three hostages do not meet the same fate.
John Ridsdel was one of four people including two Canadians taken captive by a terrorist group called Abu Sayyaf while visiting the Philippines last September. The al-Qaida linked Islamic extremist group had threatened to behead one of the captives unless a ransom was paid by the deadline on Monday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeauconfirmed that Ridsdel was the victim of a beheading, condemning the act as a “cold-blooded murder”.
Ridsdel lived in Calgary where he worked as a mining executive, but he grew up in Yorkton and also spent time working in Regina.