A Bulgarian truck driver who was taken hostage in Iraq has been executed by his captors, the Bulgarian government has confirmed.
The Arab satellite TV station al-Jazeera received a videotape of the killing, purportedly by a group of militants led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who is linked to al-Qaeda, but decided not to broadcast the execution itself.
The Bulgarian authorities had identified the two hostages as truck drivers Ivaylo Kepov and Georgi Lazov, who went missing on 27 June on their way from Bulgaria to Mosul in northern Iraq.
The militants have threatened to kill the second hostage within 24 hours if their demand for prisoner releases are not met.
Separately, the Philippine Foreign Secretary Delia Albert has supported a statement by her deputy that their government will pull its troops out of Iraq as soon as possible.
Insurgents in Iraq have demanded the withdrawal in return for the life of a Filipino lorry driver who is being held hostage.
Manila has not said if the troops will pull out by 20 July, which is the deadline set by the kidnappers.
