Filipino Hostage In Iraq Released

BAGHDAD, July 20 (AFP) - A Filipino truck driver taken hostage in Iraq and threatened with beheading was released on Tuesday and is at the United Arab Emirates embassy in Baghdad with Philippine officials, a UAE diplomat said.
"We were surprised this morning when the Philippine hostage Angelo de la Cruz was set free in our embassy," the UAE charge d`affaires Hamed al-Shamisi said in a statement.
The Philippine deputy foreign minister and charge d`affaires were united with the 46-year-old father of eight at the UAE compound in the Iraqi capital, he said.
Shamisi said the UAE had agreed to transport de la Cruz to Dubai where he will undergo medical check-ups.
Earlier another UAE diplomat confirmed that the former hostage was well.
"He is inside and he is in good health," the diplomat told AFP.