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12/10/2009
Priest Snatched In The Philippines
A 79-year-old Irish priest has been kidnapped by armed men in a southern region of the Philippines.
Father Michael Sinnott, from Barntown in Co Wexford, was taken by six gunmen after they stormed his residence near the southern city of Pagadian.
An extensive search has since been launched for the priest who is understood to be a member of the Missionaries of St Columban.
It has since been revealed by Regional police in the area that the gunmen took Fr Sinnott to a waiting van, which was later found abandoned and torched in a coastal area. They then boarded a small vessel and headed out to sea.
No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, but Muslim guerrillas who have been fighting for a separate homeland in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation's south are suspected.
Previous kidnappings targeting foreign missionaries and tourists have been blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
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.
(DW/GK)
Father Michael Sinnott, from Barntown in Co Wexford, was taken by six gunmen after they stormed his residence near the southern city of Pagadian.
An extensive search has since been launched for the priest who is understood to be a member of the Missionaries of St Columban.
It has since been revealed by Regional police in the area that the gunmen took Fr Sinnott to a waiting van, which was later found abandoned and torched in a coastal area. They then boarded a small vessel and headed out to sea.
No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, but Muslim guerrillas who have been fighting for a separate homeland in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation's south are suspected.
Previous kidnappings targeting foreign missionaries and tourists have been blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
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.
(DW/GK)
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Kidnap Priest To Stay On
The freed priest, Fr Michael Sinnott - who is resting at the Columban missionaries' compound in the capital Manila after a 32-day kidnap ordeal - is to remain in the country. The 79-year-old cleric, who suffers from a serious heart problem, said his captors treated him well and he remained in good health despite the primitive conditions.
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The freed priest, Fr Michael Sinnott - who is resting at the Columban missionaries' compound in the capital Manila after a 32-day kidnap ordeal - is to remain in the country. The 79-year-old cleric, who suffers from a serious heart problem, said his captors treated him well and he remained in good health despite the primitive conditions.
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Ireland WeatherThis Evening and Tonight:Any showers dying out this evening. Then the rest of the night will be dry with variable amounts of cloud. Low cloud and fog developing in the early hours. Minimum temperature 10 °C.
