EU diplomat calls for release of kidnapped Irish priest

Alistair Macdonald, head of the European Commission’s delegation to the Philippines, appealed to the kidnappers to release the 79-year-old priest “immediately and safely”.

Military officials said they had received sightings of a “bloodied” Fr Sinnott in Lanao province on Thursday. He was kidnapped at gunpoint from his residence at the Missionary Society of Saint Columban compound in Pagadian City, Zamboanga, last Sunday night.

The military suspects he was taken by a local pirate who kidnaps for profit before being passed on to separatist group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Mr Macdonald said the Irish government had not made any contact with his office to help in securing the release of Fr Sinnott, reports Xinhua news agency.

“I very much hope the MILF would be able to ensure that Fr Sinnott is released safely,” he said.

The MILF has denied any involvement in the kidnapping and says that it wants to help release him.

The military said on Friday that it knew where Fr Sinnott was being held but was refraining from a rescue operation in hope of his peaceful release.

"We have already located the exact place where Father Sinnott was taken," he said, according to Agence-France Presse.

"We are not conducting a rescue operation because we want to give a chance for the peaceful recovery of the hostaged priest."