Zamboanga City, Philippines  - A suspended provincial jail warden was shot dead Monday in a southern Philippine island, where Muslim militants are holding captive three staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), police said.

Jajulie Jupakkal was attacked in Jolo town on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, according to Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim, a provincial police chief.

Kasim said Jupakkal suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died on the spot.

Jupakkal was suspended from his post as Jolo provincial jail warden after the three ICRC staff - Swiss Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba - were kidnapped just outside the facility on January 15.

The ICRC team visited the jail in preparation for a water and sanitation project.

The hostages are being held captive by al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf rebels in the jungles of Jolo island.

The guerrillas have demanded the pull-out of government troops that have formed a cordon around their base in the hinterlands before negotiations for the release of the ICRC staff.

The kidnap victims have grown weak from their ordeal, the ICRC said. (dpa)