Five gunmen abduct priest as he takes evening stroll

A 79-YEAR-OLD Irish priest has been kidnapped in a southern region of the Philippines after he was bundled into the back of pickup truck.

Father Michael Sinnott, from Barntown in Co Wexford, was taken by up to five gunmen who stormed his residence near the southern city of Pagadian on the island of Mindanao.

Regional police commander Chief Superintendent Angelo Sumlao said the gunmen took Fr Sinnott to a waiting pick-up truck, which was later found abandoned and torched in a coastal area.

They later boarded a small vessel on a nearby beach and headed out to sea in a speed boat, according to witnesses.

Supt Sunglao said he was bundled into a van in front of horrified aides.

“They could not do anything because the abductors had powerful weapons,” Supt Sunglao said.

Mr Sinnott’s congregation, the Missionary Society of St Columban, confirmed his abduction, saying he was taking an evening stroll in the garden when he was taken by the gunmen. The group appealed for prayers for his safe recovery.

No one has claimed responsibility for the abduction, although previous kidnappings targeting foreign missionaries and tourists have been blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.

Mr Sinnott has worked in the Philippines for decades. The group said he was first assigned in the southern Philippines between 1957-66, then returned in 1976. He has been involved in a school for handicapped children since 1998.

Muslim guerrillas have been fighting for a separate homeland in this region of the southern Philippines for decades.

Fr Sinnott is the third Irish priest to be kidnapped in the area.

In 1997, Fr Des Hartford was held by Islamic militants for 12 days, and in 2001 a priest from Waterford, Fr Rufus Hally, was shot dead during an attempted abduction.

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