The Philippines said Tuesday that it would withdraw its troops from Iraq “as soon as possible” in response to kidnappers’ demands. Philippine officials were quoted as saying they expected the hostage to be released later Tuesday.
荆楚网综合消息 据外电报道，菲律宾政府周二表示，菲律宾将“尽快”从伊拉克撤军。据一菲律宾官员所说，他们希望人质于周二晚些时候获释。
In a statement he read on the Arab-language news channel Al-Jazeera, Deputy Foreign Minister Rafael Seguis said his country’s “humanitarian forces” would be pulled “in response to your request.”
菲律宾外交部副部长拉法尔在半岛电视台阅读的一项声明中说：“作为对你们要求的回应，菲律宾将尽快把人道主义援助部队从伊拉克撤出。”
But it was unclear if such a pullout would come ahead of the Philippines’ scheduled departure of Aug. 20. When questioned by the newscaster as to when that would be, Seguis said only that a pullout would come according to the government’s commitments.
但是目前尚不清楚菲律宾撤军的具体时间会不会比原定的8月20日提前。当问及此时，拉法尔拒绝透露。
Insurgents said they would kill the man, Angelo dela Cruz, 46, a truck driver, if the Philippines did not pull its 51-member peacekeeping force out of Iraq by July 20. The government in the past had ignored that demand, restating that its troop commitment ended Aug. 20.
伊武装分子说如果菲律宾在7月20日之前不将其51名维和部队从伊拉克撤出，他们就将杀死46岁的菲律宾人质克鲁斯。菲律宾政府先前拒绝了武装分子的要求，并重申，他们会按原计划于8月20日撤军。
CNN quoted Philippine officials whom it did not identify as saying they expected dela Cruz to be freed later in the day, but the report could not be confirmed.
美国有线电视网引用菲律宾一匿名官员的话说，他们希望人质在周二时被释放，但是该消息并没有得到证实。
Monday, Al-Jazeera broadcast a videotape in which the militant group, the Iraqi Islamic Army-Khaled bin Al-Waleed Corps, said dela Cruz had been taken to the place where he would be killed if the Philippines failed to agree.
本周一，阿拉伯电视台播放了一盘来自伊拉克武装分子的录像带，他们在录像带说，菲律宾人质克鲁斯被带到了行刑的地点，如果菲律宾政府拒绝撤军，人质将被斩首。
Dela Cruz was shown pleading for his life in the new video, in which he asked that his body be sent to the Philippines for burial should he be killed. He was wearing an orange garment similar to those worn by two other hostages who have been beheaded: U.S. businessman Nicholas Berg and South Korean translator Kim Sun-il.
在录像带中，克鲁斯肯求菲律宾政府撤军，并说如果他被杀害了，他希望他的尸体能运回菲律宾埋葬。他穿着黄色的衣服，和被斩首的美国人质伯格及韩国人质金善逸死前所穿的衣服相同。
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