Iraqi militants free Philippine hostage

BAGHDAD -- Hard-line Islamic militants freed Philippine hostage Angelo dela Cruz yesterday after two weeks in captivity, and one day after his government rejected US appeals not to capitulate to terrorist demands and withdrew the last of its troops in Iraq.

The hostage release came as interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi of Iraq traveled to Egypt to appeal for greater support from Arab and Islamic countries for the security and rebuilding effort at a time when some countries such as the Philippines have wavered in their commitment of peacekeepers.

Allawi is trying to use the interim government's improved legitimacy since the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty three weeks ago to win broader international support, and thus reduce his reliance on the US military force. But he is confronting a counteroffensive from insurgents who attack civilians and soldiers from countries participating in the multinational force, sometimes resorting to kidnapping and beheadings.

Soon after releasing dela Cruz, the Khaled bin al-Waleed Corps, which is linked to the Jordanian terror operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, warned Japanese officials that it would aim its car bombs against Japanese troops unless they left Iraq. Five Japanese civilian hostages were seized in April but later released, even though the Japanese government had refused to withdraw its 550 soldiers deployed in southern Iraq to work on water, health, and construction projects.

Other nations have faced similar threats in recent weeks. Bulgaria refused to pull out its nearly 500 soldiers even though a video showed a Bulgarian truck driver being killed. South Korea said it would go forward with plans to send peacekeepers after a South Korean worker was beheaded.

Four countries prior to the Philippines have already pulled out their troops. Spain withdrew its approximately 1,300 troops earlier this year after deadly bombings in Madrid in March, leading to the previous government's defeat in national elections. Shortly after, Honduras withdrew 369 soldiers, while the Dominican Republic pulled out 300 of its troops, and Nicaragua ended a mission of 115 medical and aid workers.

The US military said yesterday that US forces suffered four deaths in Anbar Province, a hotbed of anti-foreign activity west of Baghdad. Two Marines were killed in separate episodes yesterday. A soldier was killed in combat Monday, and another died Monday of wounds from a previous attack.

US officials appealed yesterday to its coalition partners not to abandon Iraq, and warned that capitulating to kidnappers' demands would invite more incidents.

The top American general in the region warned that Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's decision could lead to more foreigners being taken hostage in Iraq. ''All of us know that if you appease terrorism, you will sooner or later fall victim to it or be taken over by it," General John Abizaid told reporters in the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain.

Independent analysts warned that any requests by Iraqi politicians for more troops to come from Muslim countries could lead to regional tensions, and perhaps be rejected by Iraqis themselves.

''I would put a lot of question marks around Arab troops," said Mustafa Alani, Middle East specialist at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies in London, by telephone last night. ''There is no history of Arab forces in peacekeeping."

Monday's withdrawal of the remaining Philippine troops came one month before the scheduled end of the country's 51-member humanitarian mission. The decision by Arroyo provoked intense anger among US and Iraqi officials, who accused her of caving in to terrorist demands. Dela Cruz's captors vowed to behead him by a deadline set for yesterday, unless there was a full Philippine withdrawal.

Looking drawn and tired, dela Cruz, a truck driver and father of eight children, told television reporters in Baghdad last night that he had been treated well by his captors, and that he was happy his government had pulled all the Philippine soldiers out of Iraq, even though it provoked the ire of both Iraqi and American officials.

''I know that the Filipinos are all very happy for the decision of the president," he said.

Arroyo said yesterday she had not capitulated, but rather had helped a man who had in three weeks become ''a symbol of the hard-working Filipino seeking hope and opportunity." About 4,000 Filipinos work on contracts in Iraq and are not affected by this week's military withdrawal. A former CIA analyst said yesterday that US officials had begun to scale down efforts to broaden the coalition.

''I think they have pretty well given up at this stage," he told a Globe reporter in Washington, adding that the insurgency was based largely in the Sunni towns west and north of Baghdad. ''I don't think anybody is going to send troops there to fight that battle for us," he said.

Last week, Allawi sent an appeal for troops to Iraq's neighbors, as well as to the leaders of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The 138,000 or so US troops comprise about 90 percent of the coalition in Iraq, and have been a magnet for the grinding insurgency.

The recent troop withdrawals leave 31 partners to the Americans. Many contingents are small, however, with some consisting of about 25 people.

Increasingly, Iraqi civilians and security forces are bearing the brunt of the violence, as they assume the public positions in government as well as in military and police operations. About 40 Iraqis have been killed and about 100 wounded during the past week in a series of suicide bombs and assassinations.

Analysts said yesterday that deploying soldiers from just one of Iraq's neighbors could coax others to join in, in an effort to keep the precarious regional balance of forces. The large Kurdish minority in Iraq has rejected any involvement by Turkish forces. Sunni political parties have accused Iran of meddling in Iraq's affairs.

King Abdullah of Jordan, who previously suggested he might send troops, rejected the idea Sunday on CNN's ''Late Edition," saying troops from neighboring countries would not be appropriate because they would be seen as pushing their own interests.

''I don't think that Jordan is the right country, nor any of the countries that surround Iraq, because I believe that we can't work with transparency," he said. ''We would all have sort of personal agendas."

US officials have suggested instead that countries could send troops to help support the United Nations, which is expected to return to Iraq soon to begin organizing national elections in December or January.

On a tour of South Asia last week, Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage told reporters that Pakistani troops could be used ''for the protection of the UN as we move toward elections."

Farah Stockman of the Globe staff contributed to this report from Washington.