Philippine govt asks rebels to help free kidnapped priest

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.

The 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front pledged to work for the release of the Reverend Michael Sinnott, said rebel leader Mohagher Iqbal.

He was seized by gunmen from his house in southern Zamboanga del Sur province on Sunday and taken to an old mountain logging camp in nearby Lanao province, military and rebel leaders said.

The military has not ruled out the possibility that the abductors could be Muslim rebels who disobeyed a guerrilla edict prohibiting ransom kidnappings and other acts of banditry, said regional military commander Major General Benjamin Dolorfino.

An investigation showed that a notorious pirate in Zamboanga del Sur, Guingona Samal, provided the speedboat used to spirit away 79-year-old Mr Sinnott to Lanao, Maj Gen Dolorfino said.

He said the military would relay intelligence and other details to the Moro rebels.

Mr Sinnott was being held in a jungle near Sultan Naga Dimaporo township, where Moro guerrillas keep a heavy presence, he said. Getting the rebels to co-operate will ensure the safety of Mr Sinnott and avoid accidental clashes between them and troops, Maj Gen Dolorfino said.

“He’s very frail because of a recent heart surgery,” Maj Gen Dolorfino told The Associated Press.

“We will exhaust all peaceful means to get him, although there is always that last military option.”

The joint effort is a rare alliance between protagonists who just a few months ago were engaged in major clashes that killed hundreds and displaced more than half a million people in the country’s south.

The 400-strong Abu Sayyaf has been suspected of getting funds and training from al-Qaida and has been blamed for bombings, beheadings and kidnappings of foreigners, including priests.