IRAQ: Just hours before an execution deadline, relatives of a Filipino hostage in Iraq were angry with their government's refusal to bow to his captors' demands and pull its troops out early from Iraq.
Told by the government on Saturday that Angelo de la Cruz was about to be freed, his family's celebrations turned sour when militants issued a new threat to kill him if Manila did not commit by 1900 GMT last night to withdraw its 51 humanitarian troops by July 20th.
Filipino Foreign Secretary Delia Albert told a news conference there was no change in plans to withdraw on August 20th, prompting an angry response from relatives and friends as they held vigils and prayed in the last hours before the deadline.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a staunch ally of the United States, is facing heavy pressure at home to save Mr de la Cruz, a native of her home province and one of eight million Filipinos who work abroad to escape poverty and unemployment.
"Mrs Arroyo should make a firm stand," Ms Wilma de la Cruz, his niece, told a news conference at the family's flimsy house in rural Pampanga province, north of Manila.
"She should save my uncle's life and not consider what benefits she might get from supporting the US war in Iraq."
Three hours before the deadline, Angelo's wife boarded a flight to Jordan, where government officials said she would make a televised appeal to his kidnappers.
The mostly Roman Catholic country has united in calls for Mr de la Cruz's release, with special Masses being held in churches around the country and Muslim clerics joining the appeals.
Leftist groups opposed to the government's support of the US military campaign in Iraq have held protests to demand that President Arroyo withdraw the force. The powerful Catholic Church has also called on her to intervene.
"Gloria has to make only one decision to stop the execution. Bring home our troops and condemn the war against Iraq," said Ms Chat Dimaano, a spokeswoman for the Migrante group representing overseas workers.
A roadside bomb near the Iraqi city of Samarra killed two US soldiers and wounded three others yesterday, the military said in a statement.
The soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division were wounded when an improvised explosive device blew up near their convoy at about 4.30 p.m., the statement said. The injured soldiers were taken to a military medical facility. Two will be returned to duty, while the condition of the third is being evaluated, the military said.