Filipino hostage freed in Iraq

Reuters ^ | 7/20/04 | Edmund Blair and Mariam Karouny

[TexKat]

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 face attacks.

The kidnappers of Filipino Angelo de la Cruz dropped him at the United Arab Emirates embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday morning, a source at the mission said. A Reuters correspondent later saw him arriving by car at the Philippine embassy.

Reuters television footage from inside the UAE embassy showed de la Cruz, 46, sitting with Philippine and UAE officials, wearing a grey sports shirt. He looked tired but in good health and fidgeted with a handkerchief in his hands.

Arroyo said she decided to withdraw a small military contingent early because of the importance of looking after some eight million Filipino workers abroad.

"A father of eight, Angelo has become a Filipino everyman, a symbol of the hardworking Filipino seeking hope and opportunity," said Arroyo, who spoke to de la Cruz by telephone.

Militants threatening to behead de la Cruz had set a July 20 deadline for Philippine troops to leave Iraq. They had been previously due to depart on August 20.

The source at the UAE embassy quoted de la Cruz, who was first reported captured on July 7, as saying the kidnappers told him to go inside and ask for help.

"We were really surprised to see him here," the source said.

De le Cruz's tearful wife Arsenia thanked the kidnappers for not harming him.

Zarqawi said in a statement posted on an Islamist Web site that Japan now should do the same as the Philippines.

"This message is directed to the Japanese government. Do what the Philippines has done because no one else can help you ... Your fate will be like that of the Americans and others," read the statement posted on a Web site that has carried previous comments from Zarqawi.

An American and a South Korean have been beheaded by a group led by Zarqawi.

OVERJOYED

Relatives at de la Cruz's home town in Buenavista, 90 km (55 miles) north of Manila, were jubilant.

"Thank you for saving Angelo to beloved Gloria and God Almighty ... Thank you, Philippines," said his sister Nelia.

Kidnappers have seized dozens of foreigners since April to press demands for foreign troops to leave, to deter foreigners from working with U.S. forces or to extract ransoms.

Many hostages have been freed, including an Egyptian released on Monday, but at least four have been killed.

Egyptian driver Mohammed al-Gharabawi was freed after the Saudi firm he worked for met kidnappers' demands by promising to stop doing work in Iraq.

"In the beginning, in the first few days, I was threatened," Gharabawi said at the Egyptian embassy in Baghdad late on Monday. "It was a real threat to me; they were shouting at me and pushing me with guns."

A group led by Zarqawi seized two Bulgarians earlier this month and sent footage to Al Jazeera television showing one of them being beheaded. Hopes that the second is alive are fading.

A Turk may also have been taken hostage in Iraq, colleagues said on Monday.

Zarqawi, whose group has claimed responsibility for many of the deadliest bombings in Iraq, is the U.S. military's prime target in the country, with a $25 million price on his head.

SENIOR OFFICIAL SHOT DEAD

The United States, which led the invasion that ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein last year, has said its coalition remains strong despite the Philippine decision to follow Spain, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras in pulling out.

But the hostage-taking has tested the will of several countries and added to the burden on the interim government, struggling with a renewed burst of suicide car bomb attacks and assassinations of senior officials.

A member of the regional council of Basra, Iraq's second biggest city, and two bodyguards were assassinated on Tuesday, a council spokesman said. He said Hazim Tawfiq al-Anachi was shot dead at a checkpoint in the southern Iraqi city.

"At the checkpoint, there were some people wearing police uniforms who asked the driver to stop. Then they opened fire," the spokesman said.

A roadside bomb exploded near the restive town of Baquba north of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing four Iraqi civilians in a minivan, a survivor of the attack and hospital officials said.

A suicide bomber blew up a fuel truck near a Baghdad police station on Monday, killing at least nine people. The bombing was the latest of at least five suicide attacks over the past week.

[TexKat]

Filipino Angelo dela Cruz, who had been held hostage in Iraq enters the Philippines embassy after he had earlier been handed over to the United Arab Emirates embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday July 20, 2004. The hostage drama that has gripped the Philippines for two weeks came to a happy ending Tuesday when insurgents in Iraq freed a Filipino truck driver who has become a national icon at home. (AP Photo/Mohammed Uraibi)

Footage from ABS-CBN local Manila television shows freed Filipino hostage Angelo de la Cruz speaking at the United Arab Emirates embassy in Baghdad. A Filipino hostage was released after Manila bowed to kidnappers' demands to withdraw its troops from Iraq, while a senior political figure was gunned down in the latest high-profile killing by insurgents bent on derailing the new government.(AFP/ABS-CBN TV)

[Jivana108]

While I am glad to see the guy alive, Im dissapointed that the Philipino troops are leaving. Now that these guys have bent over and left, that basically sent the message to the terrorists to keep going with thier kidnapping. I imagine we will see many,many more of these situations happening.

[coloradomomba]

I too am delighted for this man and his family, but how can the leader of a country be so short-sighted and unconcerned about the ramifications of such an action? Leaders have to start leading and stop trying to secure their own political status.

[Maringa]

For a while, I was thinking the Philipino troop withdrawal was a bluff, since I was thinking that the hostage was already dead. With the troops withdrawing, and dead hostage to boot, I was thinking it was going to prove a point that the terrorists killed all hostages regardless, and that they can't be negotiated with...Oh well...I'm glad he is free and safe...I hope this doesn't bite us...

[mtbopfuyn]

Well, they should be proud they saved one guy's life, never mind they've just sentenced thousands to death.

[FreedomSurge]

There is also a rumor (per Michele Malkain on Michael
Reagan show) that the Philipinos paid $6M in ransom too.

[TexKat]

Zarqawi group demands Japan pull out of Iraq: website

Japanese soldiers in Kuwait on their way to Iraq. A group headed by suspected top Al-Qaeda leader Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi demanded Japan withdraw its troops from Iraq or face attack, in a statement posted on an Islamist website.(AFP/File /Yasser Al-Zayyat)

[rhombus]

There is also a rumor (per Michele Malkain on Michael Reagan show) that the Philipinos paid $6M in ransom too.

I sure hope that isn't the case. That $6M will buy a whole lot of death.

[TexKat]

A television viedo grab shows a jubilant Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo after hearing that Angelo Dela Cruz, a Filipino truck driver who was held hostage in Iraq, was released during a meeting at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila July 20, 2004. Arroyo said de la Cruz was freed by Iraqi militants on Tuesday and was in high spirit and good health after talking to him by telephone from Baghdad. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

[kinghorse]

President Gloria reacting to the news the truck driver was released. Yes! We surrendered. Surrendering shouldn't feel this good should it?

It would suck for the Phillipines to suffer a major terrorist attack now, after all this acquiescing and boot licking. Would be just terrible.

[Chieftain]

President Gloria isn't worried about the repercussions for Filipinos...

The Islamic separatists in Mindanao will escalate their activities against American Missionaries in the Philippines. There is no money in taking Filipinos hostage in the Philippines.

[TexKat]

Protesters burn mock American flags along Manila Bay on Tuesday July 20, 2004 in Manila to protest the U.S. air strikes in Fallujah, Iraq which they claim can endanger the smooth release by Iraqi insurgents of Filipino hostage Angelo dela Cruz. The Philippines is anxiously awaiting the release of dela Cruz following the complete pullout of the small Philippine contingent in Iraq as demanded by his captors. The United States, Australia and Iraq criticized the move as 'setting a precedent.'. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

[TexKat]

Eat, drink and be merry. For your head can be here today and gone tomorrow.

Filipino Driver Angelo de la Cruz, who had been held hostage in Iraq,enjoys a beer and a traditional Iraqi chicken dish at the Philipine embassy after he was handed over to the United Arab Emirates embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday July 20, 2004. The hostage drama that has gripped the Philippines for two weeks came to a happy ending Tuesday when insurgents in Iraq freed the Filipino truck driver who has become a national icon at home. (AP Photo)