Manila bars workers after kidnap
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(CNN) -- The Philippine government has barred further workers from traveling to Iraq after one of its citizens was abducted in Baghdad.
Filipino driver Angelo dela Cruz, based out of Qatar, was abducted as he was driving in Baghdad, a Philippine official confirmed on Thursday.
Al-Jazeera reported on Wednesday that an Islamic militant group's claim to have kidnapped a Filipino man working in Iraq for a Saudi company.
The group threatened to kill the hostage within 72 hours unless the Philippine government withdraws its troops from Iraq, the Arabic-language news network said.
The Philippine labor secretary ordered an immediate halt in the deployment of any further Filipino workers to Iraq.
Some 4,000 Filipino civilians are working in U.S. military bases in Iraq as cooks, mechanics or in other jobs.
The government has offered help for any workers who want to come home, The Associated Press reported.
While the order applies to contract workers, the government has yet to respond to the kidnappers' demand to withdraw Philippine troops.
The Philippines, a staunch ally of the United States, initially contributed about 100 troops to the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.
There are now just over 50 Filipino troops in Iraq serving as part of a U.N.-mandated, U.S.-led multinational force to assist the Iraqi interim government in providing security.
In a videotaped statement from the group, the hostage is shown kneeling and facing the camera while three masked men stand behind him.
The kidnappers identified themselves as members of the Khaled Bin Al-Walid Squadrons, part of the Islamic Army of Iraq.
No information about the group was immediately available.
The captors displayed the identification card and firearms permit of an Iraqi security guard they said they had killed already.
Gilberto Asuque, a spokesman for the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs, said a team has been established to work with the charge d'affairs in Baghdad.
The government's Middle East envoy, Ambassador Roy Cimatu, has flown to Iraq to assess the situation.
The government has come under pressure from left-wing politicians to withdraw its forces from Iraq, and Arroyo said in April she was considering pulling out the small reconstruction force.
CNN Jakarta Bureau Chief Maria Ressa contributed to this report.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
