Militants freed a Filipino truck driver after the Philippines government gave in to their demands to withdraw troops from Iraq to prevent the beheading of the 46-year-old father of eight who had been held captive for two weeks.

Filipino truck driver Angelo dela Cruz, held hostage for nearly two weeks, has been freed, a spokesman for the Iraqi National Congress said today.

Filipino lorry driver Angelo dela Cruz, held hostage in Iraq for nearly two weeks, has been freed, a United Arab Emirates embassy official says.

The commander of Filipino soldiers in Iraq returned home today ahead of his troops after the Philippines decided to withdraw them to meet a demand by Iraqi insurgents threatening to behead a Filipino hostage.

A UNITED STATES air strike targeting a purported fighting position used by foreign militants in Fallujah demolished a house and killed 14 people, hospital and local officials said yesterday.

A Filipino truck driver being held hostage by insurgents in Iraq said today he was coming home soon and thanked his government for agreeing to withdraw its peacekeepers from the country, according to video shown on Al-Jazeera television station.

Gunmen assassinated a provincial governor yesterday, hours after a suicide attacker detonated a massive car bomb that killed at least 10 and wounded 40, in the worst attack in Baghdad since the United States handed power to an Iraqi interim government on June 28.

A SUICIDE attacker detonated a massive car bomb yesterday at a checkpoint near the British Embassy and headquarters of the interim Iraqi government.

A suicide attacker detonated a massive car bomb today at a checkpoint near the British Embassy and the interim Iraqi government’s headquarters in Baghdad, killing 11 people and wounding 40, including a US soldier, authorities said.

Supporters of a Filipino hostage in Iraq cheered Manila’s lifesaving decision to withdraw troops from the war-torn nation, but the move was slammed by Washington and its allies, who said the US-led coalition would suffer.

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

The Philippine government made a direct appeal early today to insurgents holding a Filipino hostage, pleading with them to show mercy for the man they pledged to kill if the country did not agree to pull its troops from Iraq early.

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.

The Philippines today refused to withdraw its troops from Iraq sooner than their scheduled August 20 departure despite a threat by insurgents to behead a Filipino hostage unless they pulled out this month.

A Filipino worker being held hostage by insurgents in Iraq appealed to his country to give in to their demands and withdraw its small contingent of troops, according to a video shown on the Al-Jazeera television station today.

An Iraqi guardsman, three civilians and five US soldiers were killed when insurgents detonated a car bomb and levelled a military headquarters in the city of Samarra with a massive mortar barrage, the military said.