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Iraqi envoy linked to Muslim rebels leaves Manila
An Iraqi diplomat expelled by the Philippines for alleged links to Muslim militants flew out of Manila on Thursday evening, airport officials said. Husham Husain, a second secretary at the Iraqi embassy, left on a Qatar Airways flight which took off around 11:30 p.m. (1530 GMT) for Doha.The government said on Wednesday it had given Husain 48 hours to leave after an intelligence report linked him to the Abu Sayyaf rebels, blamed for a bombing that killed a U.S. soldier and three Filipinos in the southern city of Zamboanga in October. Iraq's Foreign Ministry said in Baghdad the expulsion was part of a U.S. campaign to distort the image of Iraq and link it to terror. "What astonished us was the Philippines following the U.S. campaign of disinformation, which spread allegations about the Iraq diplomat having links to the Abu Sayyaf group," it said in a statement. Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said Husain was expelled after an intelligence agency traced cellular phone calls to him from Abu Sayyaf members immediately after the bombing of a karaoke bar in Zamboanga. "There is no sign that there will be retaliation," Ople told reporters when asked whether Iraq would take similar action against Philippine diplomats in Baghdad. Na Na Nah Nah, Na Na Nah Nah, Hey Hey, Goodbye! Posted by: Steve 2003-02-13 |
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