US chides Manila on troop pullout

Vigils have been held for Mr de la Cruz around the Philippines

The Bush administration has expressed dismay at moves by the Philippines to rush its troops out of Iraq after pressure from kidnappers.

The state department's Richard Boucher said the US was "disappointed" after Manila's deputy foreign minister said they would go "as soon as possible".

Militants holding a Filipino man say they will kill him if his country does not speed up its planned withdrawal.

Their hostage, truck driver Angelo de la Cruz, was seized last week.

Philippines Deputy Foreign Minister Rafael Seguis told al-Jazeera television the troops would leave "swiftly, in the time it takes to carry out the necessary preparation for their return to the Philippines".

Mr Boucher said the US had noted the comments and added: "We are disappointed to see remarks like this at a time when Iraq is fighting for stability and peace."

'Clarification' call

Mr de la Cruz, a 46-year-old father of eight, was kidnapped on 7 July.

His captors have called on Manila to withdraw its 51 peacekeeping troops by 20 July - one month ahead of their scheduled departure date.

COALITION TROOPS IN IRAQ Top contributors: US - 118,000 UK - 8,300 Italy - 2,800 Poland - 2,350 Ukraine - 1,550 The Netherlands - 1,300 Romania - 700 South Korea - 700 Japan - 500 Denmark - 400 Source: Globalsecurity.org Where are the troops?

The militants - who have appeared under a banner saying Islamic Army, Khaled bin al-Waleed corps - extended the deadline for killing Mr de la Cruz until 1900 GMT on Tuesday, the government said.

Foreign Secretary Delia Albert later repeated the statement by her deputy, but did not clarify the timing.

A US official was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying: "We have seen recent statements from the Philippine government about withdrawing 51 of their troops from Iraq, possibly ahead of the planned August rotation.

"We are seeking clarification from the Philippine government regarding this matter."

The official said "such a decision would send the wrong signal to terrorists around the globe".

At the weekend, the Philippine government said it would not give in to the militants' demands.