Muslim militants free Italian priest

An Italian priest held hostage for more than a month in the southern Philippines said he lost 15 pounds on a meager diet during his ordeal but was not threatened by the Muslim militants who kidnapped him.

The Rev. Giancarlo Bossi, 57, said he did not believe he would be freed until he was dumped along a road where police picked him up. Looking haggard and thin, Bossi appeared briefly on local television before he was to fly to Manila, the capital.

Bossi was kidnapped June 10 on his way to celebrate Mass in Zamboanga Sibugay province. Police said that his release followed negotiations with rogue elements of a Muslim separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and that no ransom was paid.