Allawi urges Manila not to be subjected to kidnappers demands; A beheaded body was found in Iraq
Iraq-Philippines, Politics, 7/16/2004

Bulgaria announced yesterday it started to lose hope to finding its kidnapped hostage in Iraq, in a step coincided with finding a beheaded body expected to be for the second Bulgarian hostage whose kidnappers killed in Iraq last Tuesday.

Meantime, the Iraqi prime minister Eyad Allawi urged the President of the Philippines Gloria Oryo not to withdraw her forces from Iraq by being subjected to the demands of the kidnappers of the Philippine hostage who extended the grace period for manila until the end of the current month before killing him.

A spokeswoman for the American army said that the Iraqi police found a beheaded body in an " orange costume" on Wednesday evening in Tigris river near Beji to the north of Baghdad and handed it over to the American forces, adding that it is not known whether the body was for the killed Bulgarian hostage.

In this context, the Bulgarian foreign minister Solomon Basi said that " with every passing hour, the situation is increasingly endangered and the possibility of rescuing the second hostage is diminishing." He indicated that Bulgaria does not have "authentic information" on his condition. Basi indicated that Sofia is contacting the Iraqi authorities to know if the discovered body is for the killed Bulgarian hostage.

In a press conference, Allawi said he had talked with Oryo to urge her to reconsider withdrawal of the Philippine forces from Iraq, adding that Baghdad's policy is not to negotiate with the kidnappers.

Previous Stories:
  Manila responds to the demands of the kidnappers of the Philippine's hostage   (7/13/2004)
  Kidnappers of Philippine hostage in Iraq give Manila the last chance   (7/13/2004)
  Manila renews rejection of early withdrawal from Iraq   (7/12/2004)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search