The Philippines began pulling troops out of Iraq Friday to save the life of a Filipino hostage, ignoring calls from the United States and other allies not to bow to kidnappers’ demands. Diplomats in Baghdad said a headless corpse found in the Tigris River was probably that of a Bulgarian hostage killed by militants linked to al Qaeda ally Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi. Hopes of finding a second Bulgarian alive were fading, they said. Speaking on television, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert said all of Manila’s small force would leave soon. “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. The rest would follow shortly. The Philippines’ ambassador to Kuwait, Bayani Mangibin, said the unit was about two hours from the Iraq-Kuwait border and would be arriving in Kuwait early Saturday. All the troops had been scheduled to leave on August 20, but that date was brought forward to satisfy Islamic militants threatening to behead truck driver Angelo de la Cruz. Thursday, Iraq’s interim prime minister urged Manila to hold firm as he announced the formation of a domestic spy agency to “annihilate” the insurgents launching daily attacks. ZARQAWI GROUP CLAIMS GOVERNOR’S KILLING A group led by Zarqawi claimed the killing of the governor of the northern city of Mosul in an ambush Wednesday. “Thanks to God, your brothers in the military wing of Tawhid and Jihad Group were able to get the head of the apostate traitor, the governor of Mosul, in an ambush,” said the statement, dated July 14 and posted on an Islamist Web site. Governor Osama Kashmoula was the most senior official to be assassinated in Iraq since May, when a suicide bomber killed the head of Iraq’s now-defunct Governing Council.
Zarqawi’s group has claimed responsibility for major attacks and killed an American and a South Korean hostage. Washington has put a $25 million bounty on his head.
The Bush administration sought to persuade the Philippines not to cave in to the militants holding de la Cruz. Some analysts said the pullout would severely strain Manila’s relations with Washington. The United States, which led the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein last year, insisted Thursday its coalition was strong despite the Philippine decision to follow Spain, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras in pulling out. De la Cruz said in a message he would be returning home, Arabic channel Al Jazeera said Thursday. But the group holding the father of eight said it would free him only after Manila withdrew its last soldier. 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. Bulgaria watched a deadline for the execution of a second Bulgarian hostage held by militants linked to Zarqawi pass without news Wednesday but refused to pull out its troops. The body pulled out of the Tigris south of the city of Mosul Wednesday was wearing an orange jumpsuit, similar to those in which several hostages have been dressed in guerrilla videos. The jumpsuits are typical of U.S. jails and associated around the world with those worn by prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. In fresh violence, a roadside bomb killed one Iraqi civilian Friday near Baiji, north of Baghdad, witnesses said. In Baghdad, a U.S. soldier was wounded when a car bomb was detonated beside an American patrol, the U.S. army said. Britain’s military said three of its soldiers were lightly wounded in a mortar attack in Basra, 340 miles south of Baghdad.