Kidnapped Priest Spotted

Fr Michael Sinnott, the Irish priest kidnapped in the Philippines, is reported to have been seen alive.

The sightings have come from an area where Islamist militants are known to operate.

Authorities said the 79-year-old priest and his heavily armed captors were seen yesterday on the coast of Moro Gulf on the southern island of Mindanao.

Regional military chief Major-General Ben Dolorfino said they were seen in Lanao del Sur but did not give specific details so as not to jeopardise ongoing military operations.

Concerns are growing for the health of the priest who is believed to require regular medication after undergoing a quadruple heart bypass several years ago.

Father 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 is underway 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.

Previous kidnappings targeting foreign missionaries and tourists have been blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, which is believed to be responsible for the abduction.

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/KMcA)