Death came close for Filipino hostage Angelo dela Cruz, who says Iraqi insurgents at one point sharpened a sword and probed his neck for the right spot to cut.

A MILITANT group holding two Bulgarian truck drivers hostage in Iraq said last night it had executed one of them and planned to kill the other in 24 hours.

The Philippine government was waiting for information today after making a direct appeal to the insurgents holding a Filipino hostage to spare his life.

IRAQ’S interim government vowed yesterday to restore the death penalty and take a “sharp sword” to insurgents, but also promised an amnesty to any rebels who stop fighting.

Insurgents holding a Filipino truck driver hostage said today that he was still alive, but had been moved to the place where he was to be killed if the Philippines did not agree to remove their troops from Iraq, according to a video on the pan-Arab television station Al-Jazeera.