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Philippine action a serious setback in global terrorism fight which may lead militants to plot bolder, wider attacks LONDON - At least for this weekend, the Philippines has a new hero. Mr de la Cruz when he was still a hostage, before his government caved in to terrorist demands. -- EPA He is Mr Angelo de la Cruz, held hostage by terrorists in Iraq, but now back home after a triumphant welcome. President Gloria Arroyo, who acceded to the terrorists' demands and withdrew Philippine troops from Iraq in order to obtain Mr de la Cruz's release, has arranged a common...

SAMARRA, Iraq (AFP) - Seven Iraqis and a US soldier were killed in a fresh bout of violence around the rebel hotbed of Samarra, as a Filipino hostage headed home amid controversy over Manila's decision to quit Iraq to spare his life. The latest bloodshed erupted Wednesday as foreign ministers from countries neighbouring Iraq were meeting in Cairo to discuss the new government's demands for help in restoring security on the borders of the ravaged nation. Fierce fighting flared overnight between US soldiers and insurgents in Samarra, a restive town north of Baghdad that has been the scene of frequent...

Filipino hostage still held in Iraq despite troop withdrawal MANILA: A kidnapped Filipino truck driver was Tuesday still being held by kidnappers in Iraq, officials said, despite the withdrawal of all Filipino troops from the country. The Philippine government Monday bowed to the kidnappers' demands by completing the withdrawal of the small contingent of police and troops from Iraq, more than one month ahead of schedule. Philippine diplomatic sources said government officials in the Middle East had been meeting with intermediaries in an attempt to secure the release of Angelo de la Cruz, a 46-year-old father-of-eight. Presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A Filipino hostage held in Iraq has been released, a United Arab Emirates official said, after Manila gave in to the kidnappers' demands and withdrew its troops from the country.

Philippine troops have now left Iraq - to meet a demand by militants who threatened to kill a Filipino hostage. The troops paid a final "exit call" to the Polish commander at their base in Hillah, south of Baghdad. After lowering the Philippine flag at their headquarters, they crossed into Kuwait in a convoy of cars. They are expected to fly home to Manila soon. There is still no news of Angelo de la Cruz, who faced execution if the troops did not leave by the end of July. The Philippines began withdrawing its 51-strong force last week, after agreeing...

MANILA (AP)--The Philippines said Monday that it has completed the controversial withdrawal of its peacekeeping contingent from Iraq, meeting a demand by Iraqi insurgents threatening to behead a Filipino hostage. The last members of the 51-strong force made an "exit call" on the new Polish commander at their base in Hillah, south of Baghdad, then waved as they left in six cars. Foreign Secretary Delia Albert said they would travel by road to Kuwait, a several-hour trip, then take a commercial flight home.

Once dubbed the "sick man of Asia" for its anemic showing during the 1980s Asian economic boom, the Philippines has now earned the title "weak man of Asia" — by caving in to terrorist demands in exchange for the release of a Filipino truck driver in Iraq. By being the first country to pull its troops out of Iraq over a terrorist hostage situation, the Philippines has, in one fell swoop: Encouraged terrorists thugs to take more hostages in Iraq — and beyond. Emasculated itself at home in the face of a growing Muslim terrorist insurgency. Stabbed its ardent counterterrorism...

THE remaining members of the tiny Philippine police and military contingent in Iraq are to withdraw tomorrow, Foreign Secretary Delia Albert confirmed today. The change in foreign policy was made last week to save the life of truck driver Angelo de la Cruz, held hostage by Iraqi militants who threatened to behead him unless President Gloria Arroyo recalled the contingent a month ahead of schedule. The first batch of the 51-member contingent had already pulled out on Friday, and those remaining in Iraq are "finalising the turnover of their responsibilities", Albert said. Arroyo's special envoy to the Middle East, Roy...

Angelo de la Cruz has come to represent all Filipinos working overseas, and his safety justifies Manila’s decision to pull its troops out of Iraq despite commitments to foreign allies, the President’s spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, said on Saturday. Bunye said in a statement that the Filipino hostage “has become the Filipino everyman. A symbol of the hardworking Filipino who has ventured to foreign lands to earn an honest living.” The statement, which will be carried as a column in state-owned newspapers, called on the public to “unite and save de la Cruz by supporting the government and President Arroyo.” De...

The Philippines' hasty exit from Iraq to meet the demands of terrorists threatening to behead a Filipino contract worker held hostage received near universal condemnation in the world press this week. Typical was the criticism leveled at the Arroyo government in the lead editorial in Newsday's Friday edition: "An ill-advised move that could have dire consequences for citizens of other nations participating in the UN multinational force." Besides the prospect of feeding future terrorist actions and demands, what editorialists found most perplexing about Philippines President Gloria Arroyo's policy of withdrawal was that it flies in the face of the Philippines'...

BAGHDAD Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Thursday that he was opposed to negotiating with terrorists and that he had urged the Philippine government to reconsider its decision to pull out peacekeeping troops in response to a demand by insurgents threatening to kill a Philippine truck driver being held hostage. The hostage, Angelo dela Cruz, appeared Thursday on Al Jazeera television, saying he was coming home soon and thanking his government for agreeing to withdraw peacekeepers from Iraq.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The Philippine government made a direct appeal Tuesday to insurgents holding a Filipino hostage, pleading with them to show mercy for the man they threatened to kill if the country did not agree to pull its troops from Iraq early. Philippine Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Rafael Seguis went on Arab TV station Al-Jazeera to try to secure the release of Angelo dela Cruz. Insurgents had said they would kill the truck driver by Monday evening if the Philippines did not agree to pull its 51-member peacekeeping force by July 20. Manila on Monday restated its troop...

MANILA, Philippines - A Philippine official said Tuesday the country would withdraw its troops "as soon as possible" after militants holding a Filipino truck driver hostage in Iraq (news - web sites) advanced their deadline for beheading him by 24 hours. Philippine Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Rafael Seguis went on the pan-Arab television station Al-Jazeera Tuesday morning in an effort to secure Angelo dela Cruz's release. However, it remained unclear if the government actually intended to pull its troops out ahead of their scheduled Aug. 20 departure. On behalf of the Philippines and dela Cruz's family, "I appeal to your...

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Philippines will withdraw its forces from Iraq (news - web sites) "as soon as possible," Philippine Deputy Foreign Minister Rafael Seguis said on Monday in a statement he read out on al Jazeera television. "In response to your request, the Philippines ... will withdraw its humanitarian forces as soon as possible," Seguis said according to al Jazeera's Arabic translation of his remarks. His statement was addressed to the group which is holding a Filipino driver hostage.

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...

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...

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - The Philippines - still hoping a kidnapped Filipino trucker driver will be released - rejected demands Sunday of the hostage takers for an early troop withdrawal from Iraq. The group that snatched Angelo dela Cruz, 46, near the troubled city Fallujah on Wednesday originally gave Manila until 3 p.m. EDT to advance its pullout by a month to July 20. After the government's rejection, however, the insurgents extended the deadline by two days, until Tuesday, a government official said early Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity. "In line with our commitment to the free people of...

Militants in Iraq have denied reports they released a Philippine national, Angelo de la Cruz, and say they will kill the hostage late Sunday unless the Philippines agrees to withdraw its troops from Iraq. A statement from Iraqi militants, issued via the Arab news network Al Jazeera, dashed hopes in the Philippines that hostage Angelo de la Cruz had been released. Labor Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas mistakenly told Mr. de la Cruz's family he had been freed late Saturday. On Sunday, the national media trumpeted his liberation but quickly retracted the reports. Iraqi militants says they still have Mr. de...

MANILA, Philippines July 11, 2004 — Insurgents threatening to kill a Filipino hostage unless the government pull its troops from Iraq extended the Sunday deadline by two days, an official said. The group that abducted Angelo dela Cruz, 46, near the troubled Iraqi city of Fallujah had given the Philippines until 11 p.m. Sunday, Baghdad time, to agree to withdraw its 51 soldiers and police by July 21. The forces are on a humanitarian mission. The Philippines on Sunday rejected the demand, saying its troops will withdraw as scheduled on Aug. 20. A senior government official, speaking on condition of...

BUENAVISTA, Philippines (Reuters) - Relatives and friends of a Filipino hostage being held by militants in Iraq prayed at his house into the early hours as a deadline for his execution passed with no news of his fate. The relatives had already complained bitterly at their government's refusal to bow to the demands of Angelo de la Cruz's captors and pull its troops out of Iraq ahead of time. The family had been told by the government on Saturday that De la Cruz was about to be freed, but their celebrations turned sour when the militants issued a new threat...