Iraq Hostage Crisis Deepens As Arab Leaders Mull Troop Proposal

BAGHDAD, July 29 (AFP) - Iraq's hostage crisis deepened on Thursday as US and Iraqi officials mulled a Saudi proposal to dispatch Arab or Muslim troops to Iraq and an Arab League "troika" of foreign ministers were to consider an appeal by Baghdad for Arab troops to protect a new UN mission here.
A shocked Pakistan condemned the beheading of two of its nationals by militants in Iraq, with President Pervez Musharraf describing the act as a crime against humanity that had damaged Islam, while a Somali truck driver was reported captured by alleged Al-Qaeda followers in Iraq.
Faced with a continuing cycle of violence, US Secretary of State Colin Powell welcomed the idea of dispatching Arab or Muslim troops to Iraq, in addition to the thousands of foreign troops already there.
Powell said the troops would be sent "either as part of the coalition or as a separate organisation that would be within the framework of the coalition effort, but would be there perhaps to provide security facilities or provide protection to the United Nations."
Speaking after talks in Saudi Arabia with Iraq's Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, Powell said that Washington welcomed the proposals and would be "examining them in the next few days."
A day after more than 120 people died in a massive suicide bombing in Baquba and clashes between UN troops and insurgents, Iraq's national conference, a vast experiment in democracy due to start Saturday, was delayed by two weeks.
The decision was made at the request of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the event's spokesman said.
In Islamabad, the government came under fire for failing to prevent the deaths of Sajid Naeem, 29, and Azad Hussein Khan, 49.
Distraught relatives and opposition parties blasted Islamabad for refusing to rule out sending troops to Iraq, a reason cited by the mens's captors for holding them.
In the latest in a series of sinister videos, Al-Jazeera television broadcast footage of a Somali reportedly held by Zarqawi's Tawhid wa al-Jihad (Unity and Holy War) group and threatened with beheading unless his Kuwaiti employers quit the country in 48 hours.
Named as truck driver Ali Ahmad Mussa, the Somali is the latest victim in the hostage crisis which has underscored Iraq's instability.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said New Delhi was making "all efforts" to secure the release of three Indian truck drivers abducted a week ago, who are among at least 19 foreigners known to be hostage or missing in the country.
According to Powell, "many" Muslim countries have been considering joining force in Iraq, although both he and Allawi said Iraq's immediate neighbours would not be asked to participate in such a deployement.
In Tunis, three Arab League foreign ministers began consultations with their Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari over an appeal by Baghdad last week for Arab troops to protect UN operations in Iraq.
The foreign ministers of Algeria, Bahrain and Tunisia as well as the Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa were attending the talks.
A Security Council resolution last month provided for the establishment of a dedicated international force to provide protection for UN staff in Iraq.
International UN personnel quit Iraq in the wake of a massive bomb attack at the UN headquarters in Baghdad last August.
In London, a parliamentary committee report warned that the US-led coalition's failure to restore security had turned Iraq into a battleground for the likes of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network.
"Iraq has become a 'battleground' for Al-Qaeda, with appalling consequences for the Iraqi people," said the report, adding that Iraq's own police and armed forces are still "a long way from being able to maintain security".
In Brussels, NATO diplomats continued intensive negotiations to resolve differences over a pledge to train Iraqi security forces, hoping to overcome resistance notably from France, diplomats said.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders agreed in principle at a summit in Istanbul last month to provide such training, but France notably wants training to take place outside the war-scarred country, diplomats say.
Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 70 from a massive suicide bombing on Wednesday that unleashed mayhem in the flashpoint town of Baquba, which police have blamed on Zarqawi's militants.
An Iraqi border guard was killed and nine others were wounded when insurgents ambushed their convoy near Baquba on Thursday morning, the border security unit said.
Overnight, a Polish soldier was killed and four were wounded when a remote-controlled mine exploded south of the Iraqi capital, Warsaw said.
He was the seventh Polish soldier to be killed in Iraq, where US-ally Poland heads a 6,500-strong multinational force including 2,500 Polish troops.