Philippine's Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay attends the 34th session of the Human Rights Council at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

GENEVA (Reuters) - A German hostage apparently beheaded by the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf group may have been killed because he was sick, Philippines Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said on Monday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Yasay said the Philippines was seeking technological help from its allies to pinpoint the locations of remaining hostages and would stick to its tough “no ransom” policy.

“We will undertake our operations to make sure we give a premium to saving the lives of the hostages and precisely because of this our task has not been easy but we are prepared to crush them when the opportunity comes,” he told reporters.