Free Republic

THE communist movement will lead moves to overthrow the Arroyo administration if Angelo de la Cruz is beheaded by his abductors in Iraq. In a statement Gregorio Ka Roger Rosal, spokesman for the Communist Party of the Philippines, accused President Arroyo of sacrificing the lives of overseas Filipino workers by supporting the US-backed invasion of Iraq. “The Arroyo regime is responsible for putting the lives of Filipino workers in Iraq and the Middle East in danger, and now the dire fate and danger to the life of de la Cruz,” Rosal said. “It is the full responsibility of the puppet...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A Filipino truck driver held hostage in Iraq for two weeks has been freed, a day after Manila withdrew its troops in response to demands from kidnappers who had threatened to behead him. The United States, Australia and Iraq's interim government have accused Manila of caving in to terrorists, but Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo defended the decision and said the father of eight did not deserve to die. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an Islamic militant with suspected ties to al Qaeda warned Japan it should now do the same and pull its troops out of Iraq or...

BAGHDAD (AFP) - A Philippine hostage faced with beheading made a final plea to Manila to pull its troops from Iraq as interim President Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar warned all kidnappers to surrender or face "the sword". The drama unfolded as news broke that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has tapped Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, as the new United Nations envoy to Iraq. In a statement and video attributed to the Filipiono's kidnappers and broadcast on al-Jazeera television, the group said it had extended an original deadline to execute Angelo de la Cruz by 24 hours...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Guerrillas killed three U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi guard in a mortar attack on National Guard headquarters in Samarra, north of Baghdad, Thursday. The latest violence erupted a day after Iraq's interim government announced a new security law giving itself tougher powers to combat a bloody insurgency wracking the country. Eighteen U.S. soldiers and three Iraqi guards were also wounded when guerrillas fired four mortar rounds at the Iraqi National Guard headquarters in Samarra, severely damaging the building, also used by U.S. troops, a military spokesman said. The 1st Infantry Division spokesman said U.S. forces used radar...