Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero, AFP spokesman, said the military leadership has prepared a simple welcome ceremony for the 34 soldiers upon their arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

The rites will recognize the contribution of the contingent to the seach for elusive peace in Iraq.

"We have prepared a simple welcome ceremony for our troops to recognize their efforts at rehabilitating Iraq," Lucero said.

Lucero said members of the contingent will fly in on a Qataer Airways jet from Kuwait. They are expected to arrive in Manila at 4:30 a.m.

The first batch of 10 Filipino soldiers from Iraq arrived last July 21 after the President decided to pull out AFP and Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel from Iraq.

The Philippine contingent’s commander, Brig. Gen. Jovito Palparan, arrived last July 19.

A group of Iraqi militants had earlier threatened to behead De la Cruz if the Philippine government refused to withdraw its military forces.

The De la Cruz hostage crisis forced the Arroyo government to withdraw AFP and PNP personnel ahead of the scheduled pullout on August 20.

As this developed, PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Joel Goltiao, said four members of a United Nations (UN) team will arrive on August 5 to screen PNP members interested in peacekeeping missions in war-torn states.

However, Goltiao failed to indicate if the new batch of PNP personnel who will be drafted by the UN will be deployed in Iraq or other countries now controlled by the UN and allied forces.

The PNP spokesman said policemen and soldiers easily pass the criteria for UN peacekeepers since they are hardworking, dedicated to the mission, and friendly.

New threat aired

Iraqi militants have renewed their call for members of the Coalition of the Willing in Iraq to follow the lead of the Philippines and withdraw their forces from Iraq.

They also threatened to launch attacks in Italy and Australia if the two countries fail to withdraw their troops from Iraq, which the US-led forces invaded.

In a statement posted on the Internet by the Islamic Unification (Islamic Tawhid), an al Qaeda-linked organization, Italy and Australia were urged to follow the tack of the Philippines and withdraw their forces from Iraq.

This is the only way for the two coalition members to protect their citizens from attack, the group said.

"Follow the path of the Philippines and Spain. This is the path that will give you security. We ask you to leave Iraq. If not, we will turn your homeland into a bloodbath," the statement said.

It is the second time that Iraqi militants have urged coalition members to withdraw, the first time was when a a militant group, supposedly linked with Islamic extremist Zarqawi, threatened Japan.

In Canberra, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer also blasted the Philippines for the new threats by Iraqi militants against his country, claiming the Manila’s withdrawal emboldened Iraqi militants to make new threats.

"What (the threat) does is, it reminds us we have to be absolutely determined in the face of the threats of terrorists to make sure we don’t give in to those threats," Downer said over Australian television.

He said the international community is now paying the price for the Philippines’ withdrawal from Iraq.

"It is very important we send a strong message that we will not be threatened by terrorist groups. Terrorist groups will not determine the policy of the Australian government or the Australian people," Downer added.

Aside from Australia, the United States and Poland have also criticized the Philippines’ for giving in to terrorist demands. (David Cagahastian)

Australia hits RP, Spain

SYDNEY (AFP) — Australia’s foreign minister on Sunday accused the Philippines and Spain of prompting a militant group’s threat to bomb Australia unless it withdraws from Iraq, saying they had "empowered" terrorists by caving in to their demands.

Alexander Downer said the threat by a group calling itself Islamic Tawhid Group, which claims to be an Al-Qaeda branch in Europe, was a direct result of Manila and Madrid’s withdrawal from Iraq, singling out the two countries by name.

"Its very important we send a strong message that we will not be threatened by terrorist groups," Downer told Channel Nine. "You have to stand up to these people, because if you don’t, you empower them."

The group posted the threat overnight, reports here said, warning it would carry out car bombings in both Australia and Italy unless they pulled out their troops.

Downer said he had never heard of the group, which made similar threats against Poland and Bulgaria last week, but insisted that the government would never give in to terrorist threats.

"This group Islamic Tawhid Group isn’t a group we’re familiar with but nevertheless it’s a threat, it’s on the Internet, we take it seriously," Downer told Channel Nine.

"What it does is it reminds us that we have to be absolutely determined in the face of the threats of terrorists to make sure we don’t give in to those threats."

After the threats to Poland and Bulgaria, Poland’s security agency ABW said last week it believed the group had links to suspected senior Al-Qaeda operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi.

Downer said Australia’s main intelligence agency ASIO was investigating the credibility of both Islamic Tawhid and the website the threat was posted on.

Downer said the threat stemmed from the Philippines’ decision to withdraw from Iraq this month to secure the release of a hostaged truck driver and Spain’s withdrawal after the Madrid train bombing in March that claimed nearly 200 lives.

"Unfortunately these actions have encouraged terrorists to continue these threats and now we are subjected to them, the Italians are, the Poles, the Bulgarians, by this particular group" he said.

The threat, posted on an Islamist website, claimed the group had the capacity to strike where and when it wanted, media here reported.

Channel Nine quoted the group as saying that if Australian troops are not withdrawn from Iraq "we will shake the ground beneath your feet as we did in Indonesia, and columns of rigged cars will not stop."

The threat cited the October 2002 Bali bombing in Indonesia, which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, as an example of militants’ ability to strike Australian interests, according to transcripts carried in the Australian media.

Australia has been one of the strongest supporters of the US-led Iraq campaign, contributing 2,000 troops to last year’s invasion. About 850 Australian troops are still in and around Iraq.

The deployment has become a major issue in national elections expected to be held in October or November, with the opposition Labor Party pledging to bring the troops home by Christmas and the government saying it will remain in Iraq "until the job is done."