The Philippine government today asked a large Muslim rebel group to help secure the freedom of an ailing Irish priest kidnapped by outlaws, as troops surrounded a jungle logging area where he was being held.

Troops and navy gunboats in the Philippines tried to encircle suspected Muslim militants to pressure them into releasing kidnapped priest Michael Sinnott, a military general said today.

Philippine troops suffered one of their worst losses in an offensive against al Qaida-linked militants on a southern island that left at least 23 soldiers and 20 guerrillas dead, officials said today.