Manila refuses to rush forward troop withdrawal

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.

The group that snatched Angelo dela Cruz, 46, near Fallujah on Wednesday had given the Philippines until 8pm BST today to agree to withdraw by July 20 its 51 soldiers and police, who are on a humanitarian mission.