DUBLIN (AFP) - The Irish government said yesterday it had issued a passport to Ken Bigley, the British hostage held in Iraq, to help increase his chances of being released.

Bigley, a 62 year-old engineer abducted almost three weeks ago, has an Irish mother - a fact which his family has sought to highlight in their campaign to win his release.

His family said it had sought help from Dublin after realising the British government's hands were tied because of its participation in the US-led occupation of Iraq.

Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern said Bigley's family had asked for a passport "in order to help convince his kidnappers" of his Irish citizenship.

"I am happy to agree to this request and I, and the Taoiseach (prime minister) and the Government as a whole, very much hope that it will contribute to the efforts to secure his release," he said.

Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and a prominent anti-war opposition politician have already made pleas on the Arabic Al Jazeera satellite television channel to have the engineer released.

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