Filipino Police Free Kidnapped Priest

An Italian priest held hostage for almost six months on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao was rescued yesterday after his captors abandoned him before an assault by security forces.

The Pentagon group freed Giuseppe "Beppe" Pierantoni, 45, in the coastal town of Tungawan after a tip-off from gang members arrested on Saturday.

Emaciated after living off scraps including snake and lizard, Father Pierantoni was whisked to the capital, Manila, to meet President Gloria Arroyo. The priest was seized from his home in the southern Zamboanga del Sur province on October 17,put his survival down to the power of prayer.

Ms Arroyo, who heralded the release as "a big step towards peace" in the south of her country, said there would be no let up in her push against the terror gangs. "My marching orders: give them no quarter," she said. "Annihilate them."

The Pentagon was formed about 18 months ago, mainly from renegade members of Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Like other gangs, it extorts huge ransoms after seizing foreigners and wealthy Filipinos.

The national police chief, General Leandro Mendoza, insisted that no ransom was paid to the kidnappers, who are on Washington's list of wanted terrorist organisations.

About 650 US troops are in the Philippines for six months to train and advise local units on combating the most notorious kidnappers, the Abu Sayyaf.