Philippines to Pull Out of Iraq to Save Hostage

Fri Jul 16, 2004 02:41 AM ET

 

By Dean Yates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Philippines will begin pulling troops out of Iraq Friday to save the life of a Filipino hostage despite dismay from Washington and calls from other allies not to bow to militants' demands.

 

Iraqi police found a headless corpse in the Tigris River dressed in an orange jumpsuit like those often worn by foreign hostages in videos released by militants.

 

Senior European diplomats in Baghdad said the corpse was likely that of a Bulgarian hostage killed this week by militants linked to al Qaeda ally Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi. Hopes of finding a second Bulgarian alive were fading, they said.

 

Speaking in a televised broadcast, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert said the rest of the small force in Iraq would leave soon after the first batch.

 

"The Philippine government has recalled the head of the Philippine humanitarian contingent in Iraq. He is leaving Iraq today with 10 members of the Philippine humanitarian contingent," Albert said.

 

In Baghdad, a Philippine embassy official declined to say when the group would leave, but said they might travel by land from their base in south-central Iraq via Kuwait.

 

Thursday, Iraq's interim prime minister urged Manila to hold firm as he announced the formation of a domestic spy agency to "annihilate" insurgents launching almost daily attacks on security forces and engaging in a spate of kidnappings.

 

Washington had tried to persuade its Asian ally not to cave to militants who have threatened to kill Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz. Some analysts said the pullout would severely strain Manila's relations with Washington.

 

The United States, which led an invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein last year, insisted Thursday its coalition in Iraq remained strong despite the Philippine decision. The Philippines is joining Spain, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras in deciding to pull out of Iraq.

 

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said giving in would not give Manila immunity from attack.

 

"I don't want to be harsh on a friend but ... it's a mistake and it won't buy them immunity," he told Australian radio.

 

"It's a wretched state of affairs, but if you give in, you won't stop it happening again -- you will invite people to do it with increasing severity."

De la Cruz told his family in a videotaped message he would be returning home, Arabic channel Al Jazeera said Thursday.

 

But the group holding the father of eight said it would only free him after Manila withdrew the last soldier from Iraq.

 

 

HEADLESS BODY FOUND

 

A Saudi transport company said it had pulled out of Iraq to save the life of an Egyptian truck driver taken hostage by kidnappers who demanded the firm leave the country, Al Jazeera satellite television reported Friday.

 

"We no longer have vehicles in Iraq. All our vehicles were pulled out of Iraq Wednesday, July 14, to ensure the safety of the hostage," the firm said in a statement sent to the channel.

 

Bulgaria watched a deadline for the execution of the second Bulgarian hostage pass without news Wednesday but stood firm on its pro-U.S. policies and refused to pull out its troops.

 

Militants linked to Zarqawi are threatening to execute him.

 

The U.S. military said Iraqi police had pulled a headless body out of the Tigris River south of the city of Mosul on Wednesday night, but could not confirm who it was.

 

Guerrilla video tapes of foreign hostages in Iraq have often shown them wearing orange jumpsuits, which are typical of U.S. jails and associated around the world with images of Muslims detained at Guantanamo Bay.

 

Interim prime minister Iyad Allawi announced the formation of a new spy agency to tackle an insurgency that has made Iraq too dangerous for most foreign firms and aid groups. That has deprived the country of a much needed economic boost.

 

Allawi said he hoped the General Security Directorate would infiltrate and expose those behind the insurgency.

 

Hours before he spoke, officials said 10 people were killed and 40 wounded when a car bomb exploded near the main police station in Haditha, in northwestern Iraq. It followed a car bombing in Baghdad Wednesday, which killed 11 people.

 

For many Iraqis a new spy agency may have overtones of the Mukhabarat, Saddam's feared domestic intelligence agency which for decades kept tight tabs on the nation, but Allawi said it was for the good of the country.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?t...storyID=5688287

it looks like we couldnt get the idiotic philippine govt to change its mind... this news is absolutely horrendous.

 

by saving this truck driver's life, they're basically encouraging the future deaths of numerous, numerous more foreigners from other countries.

 

if you think international PR is bad now, you aint seen nothing yet.